Maintaining Control
by PearlRoses630
Summary: Legolas finally encounters the daughter he had to leave behind. My, my, my! It's 2009, and I've had some recent activity to the story/pen name.. so for those of you who care, I'm working on a new chapter!
1. Loss And Discovery

Chapter One

She had just lost her mother. 

Daralis Isolde Storms walked out of the room in the hospital slowly. Her silky, dark brown hair lulled around her face and her sparkling blue eyes shone even more as they filled with tears. Everything felt cold around her, and her tears made a hot contrast down her light mocha colored cheeks, cold from the loss of blood she felt throughout her body.

Rhiannon hadn't even been fifty yet. She had just, gotten sick, began to deteriorate, in what had become her later years of life, and now, finally, she was at peace.   
Which made it quite unfortunate that Daralis couldn't feel the same serenity. 

She and her mother, Rhiannon Melody Storms, had lived together for all of her nineteen years of life, her mother never marrying, never bringing anyone home or staying out late, unless it was to work at her law firm, and she had never given Daralis any siblings. Daralis remembered asking her why one day.

"I think a child should be brought into the world with love, Dara, and I've just never been in love since your fa- since you," had been her answer. But when Daralis had questioned how much she believed that, as she was a lawyer and never even went after her father for child support or anything like that, her mother hadn't spoken to her for nearly three days before finally releasing, "You just have no clue how wrong you are."

And now, through all the amazing vacations they went on together and the dirty jokes that made them both laugh and the shopping sprees, she was gone. Just like that. Here one moment, and gone the next.

Daralis had always expected to have her mother long into her days, and this loss, so absolute in its certainty, was crippling. She could feel the numbness in her body as she climbed into her car, and drove to her (surrogate) Aunt Melissa's house to tell her the news. 

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Daralis pulled up to the house that was about 15 minutes from the house she would now inherit. She walked up to the door, but when she rang the doorbell Melissa's husband, "Uncle" Matt, answered.

"Hi, Uncle Matt May I please see Aunt Melissa?" Matt gave her a peck on the cheek.

"Come in, honey, and sit down or something. I'll go get Missy for you." Daralis moved to the couch, thinking about his words. Everyone else called her Missy, but Daralis had always preferred her real name, Melissa. She thought it was prettier.

Melissa descended the steps, and Daralis stood with watery eyes to face her. 

"Aunt Melissa," She began, breathless at actually speaking the words, "She's gone." Melissa looked at her in horror, then to Matt, and back at her, eyes wide and mouth open, a clear frown evident on her classically beautiful face.

"Wha-What are you talking about, baby? What are you talking about?" Daralis dreaded having to say it again.

"She's gone, Aunt Melissa, just now, she- she left me." Melissa's knees buckled, and Matt caught her before she hit the marble tile beneath them. 

Melissa's head was hanging down, and she drooped in her husband's arms, sobbing uncontrollably. He sank down to the floor with her, and Daralis left quietly to let them have a moment to themselves. She still had to be strong, or at least strong enough to make it home. 

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She had dashed home in the Passat, with no regard for her life and little regard for the lives of others. But she made it home, unharmed and innocent of murder with her car. There, she bathed, and dressed in big, baggy pajamas, the kind her mother liked to wear, and she climbed into her mother's bed, where she had been sleeping ever since Rhiannon had gone to the hospital two weeks ago. 

She sobbed uncontrollably for the rest of the night, not sleeping, just remembering, and clutching at the sheets around for something to hang onto to keep her from drowning in her sorrow.

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The next day, with red eyes and face, along with a congested nose, Daralis decided to go through her mother's bureau, so she could clean it out and move into the room. She felt closer to her mother in there- every breeze across her face was a kiss, the warmth the blankets lent her was a hug from her. The room had her smell, vanilla, and something unidentifiable, but comforting all the same. This room **was** her mother. And it, the photos and her own memories were all she had left of her now.

When she opened the top drawer, she saw a leather pouch she had never seen before. She supposed it had been left there for her by her, mother, because when she had gone through the drawers all those countless times before she hadn't caught it. She opened it, and two letters and a package of photos fell onto the top of the vanity, to be held down by the enormous diamond that fell out next. Daralis' breath came out quickly, and she picked it up gingerly, turning it around carefully, as if it would break if she handled it too roughly. She placed it carefully to the side and picked up the letters. One was addressed to her, and the other was addressed to someone called 'Silmeamin'. First she read that one. As she opened it, she noticed spots where the ink ran from someone crying above it.

"Silmeamin -

I write this to you as you sleep, quite near to me. Your hair is falling onto your face, and your body is slowly rising with each breath you inhale. It seems that when I think I have found a moment in which you could not appear more beautiful, you prove me wrong. Perhaps my knowledge of what also rises as you breathe makes you that much more beautiful to me.

I am sorry for not having told you this, but I have known since the second time we were intimate that you carried our baby. I feel certain that as you are reading this, you also know of your condition, one that could not have been caused without my full knowledge. I only knew, Silmeamin, that I wanted no other to carry my child, and I had hoped to be there with you. I am ecstatic over this news of our child's arrival, and my grievance at leaving you only parallels to my grievance at never seeing our little girl, and missing her birth. Elves can die of heartache- the only thing I have to keep me alive is our memories and the knowledge that we have shared worlds before, and that possibility leaves a chance, slim as it may be, that I will see you again, and meet our daughter.

When an Elf gives his heart, he has not another to give. I love you, Rhiannon,"

Daralis was shocked to see her mother's name, but continued.

"and no one I ever encounter can change that, for I have fully given myself to you. The mere fact that we are apart physically will change nothing for me, as I hope it will change nothing for your love for me. Your beauty is not only in your body, it is equally in your heart and soul, and the memory of your face and the heart and soul you have shared with me is more than enough to outweigh the pressures of anything other. The one thing you can always be sure of is my love for you- no condition, circumstance or event will ever dilute it.

The accompanying letter is for our child when you feel that she is ready. I only ask that, since I can have no part in her upbringing, that you let me contribute to her life in the only way I can think of at this point - her name.

I would like you to name her Daralis." It means 'beloved one'. I ask so that she will know that I love her, no matter how far apart we may be, and that I always will. Her name is something that she will carry throughout her life and beyond, as is my love and protection of her. "

Daralis stopped, tears clouding her eyes. She remembered asking her mother why she was named so strangely, but never receiving a straight answer - it was given to her by a family member. She hadn't guessed a family member so immediate as what appeared to be her father. She read the last paragraph, skipped the others. She felt as if she was intruding on a secret her mother had wanted to keep from her. 

" I know that I need not ask you, Silmeamin, to protect our child. I do beg of you, however, to always have her know that her father loves her. Her knowledge of my undying love for her is the only other thing you could give me, for you have given me everything I could ever want or need.

Never forget me, my Starlight, my Great Queen, for I will never forget you, no matter how many ages pass me by. I love you.

__

Namaarie. Cormamin niuve tenna' ta elea lle au'.

Legolas "

"What the hell does that mean?" She muttered, before tearing open the one addressed to her.

Butterflies flew in her stomach, bumping into its walls, from the feel of it.

Daralis-

I know that you will read this letter from your true father with some contempt, as you have never known me. I promise you, however, that if I could have been there for you, I would have been. Your mother was the only one who could convince me to return to my first home. 

I feel almost certain that your mother never married, and that she has had no other children. For that, I am truly sorry, and yet, at the same time, I am pleased. I know that there is no other I could ever find that would compare to her, and I would do the same.  
My love for your mother, Daralis, is immeasurable. Never have I loved so completely and I know with pure confidence that I will never love the way I loved her again, not because I wish not to, but because I cannot. 

As was my love for your mother, my love for you carries strength beyond measure. Without ever seeing you, I know what you will be - beautiful, for you are your mother's daughter. You will be intelligent and strong, for you are your mother's daughter. And you will love, and love so strongly that it takes complete hold of you, for you are your mother's daughter. 

There is nothing more I can say to you, for I do not know you I as I dream of knowing you. You, my daughter, are the one thing I regret in my life- I never knew you, I never raised you, and you never heard my voice telling you my love (unless, that is, you remember the sound from when I spoke to you when only I knew that your mother was with child).

Please only know that I am proud of you, without having to know you, and that I admire you, and love you. I will always dream of our meeting, for as long as I live.

You are a treasure to me, and to the rest of our people.

Your father,

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Legolas

Now Daralis' letter was streaked with tear marks, but she couldn't help it. She felt so completely and utterly alone. She held it out from her body quickly to prevent it from receiving more damage, and ended up placing it back on the bureau to pick up the packet of photos.

She picked up the pictures, and opened the paper packaging, whose flap had been opened so much that the weak paper tore when Daralis lifted it.

"Guess I should have been more worried about this thing," she commented, and she pulled the stack of photos out of the wrapper, keeping her finger on the sides of them as she looked. The first ones were of her mother and Melissa, which she set aside to give to her later, and then there were the pictures of the man she saw her self in - eye color, hair texture, slightly pointed ears, though his were much more exaggerated than hers.

"My father," She whispered. She saw what her mother must have, he was very handsome, and she switched to the next picture, which showed him smiling happily at who could only be her mother, as the next picture was a shot of them in a kiss, and it seemed to have been taken by him. She smiled faintly at seeing her mother in such a prone position. If she had been there, she would have gloated at her.

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' If she had been here, you wouldn't have found this stuff, ' Daralis thought to herself. She took the three pictures containing her father and returned to her mother's bed, looking at them for minutes at a time, inspecting each one as if she would never see them again and etching them in her mind. There was a slight familiarity with the photos, as if she'd seen them before.

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'He's gorgeous,' Daralis thought. _' I mean, Mama was beautiful, but he's.. perfect looking. I wonder where's he's from.'_

Daralis sat up with a compulsive idea. She went back to the top of the bureau, and picked up the diamond. She looked at it more carefully, and what seemed to be blood was on the edges of it. She cringed, but continued with her idea. Undoing the clasp, she re-attached it at the back and let the jewel hang around her neck. Almost instantly, she felt dizzy, but she chalked it up to not having slept the night before and being hit by a sleepy spell. Photos in hand, she moved for the bed, reaching behind her neck to take off the necklace, but she hit the floor and was out cold before she could finish doing either.

WELLLLLLLL?!!? Whaddaya think? Ooh, here's an idea! TELL ME BY REVIEWING, SO IF THERE'S ANYTHING BAD, I CAN FIX IT! Legolas deserves no injustice towards his name.

Alright, here's a bunch of stuff that I should have said before the story started, but I thought it would stifle the affect of the opening.

This is the first chapter of the sequel to Regaining Control. It can be read alone, but I highly recommend reading the other story first (and reviewing it J ).

I'll say this right now, and not again, because it bugs me and it's totally obvious to anyone who reads it anyway :

I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING FROM TOLKIEN'S WORLD. I WISH I DID, BUT I SIMPLY DO NOT. SO THERE. 

I am working on the whole Orlando Bloom thing, however. Mark me words.


	2. Family Reunion

Chapter Two

Daralis woke up to brisk morning air, took no notice, felt something hard beneath her, and then remembered that had fallen asleep, on her stomach, on the floor. She groaned, and rolled over, to find that she was shrouded from the sun not by her precious ceiling, but by what seemed to be a canopy, a canopy of..

"Trees?" She stood, and turned around, her clothes hanging off of her like drapes. She felt the urge to scream. 

"AIR?" She definitely wasn't at home, and the air, which was cold, and harshly nipped her in her worn t-shirt and flannels, smelled cleaner she wasn't sure that she was even in her own country.. maybe she was in Ireland or somewhere like that, where everything wasn't already destroyed, and the air still smelled good. 

Which, of course, completely made sense.

"Oh yeah, lots of people wake up in the woods and wonder if they're in fucking Ireland! What is going on?! Ohmygod. I've been kidnapped. I have been kidnapped! What else can go wrong here?"

She was considering her options, thinking about how in the hell she could have gotten there and walking absentmindedly in a circle when she heard a voice call to her.

"Hauta!" She stopped abruptly, both because she had no clue who had spoken, and the voice was commanding, and then began frantically searching them out for some aid. She had the good sense to put her necklace inside her shirt and the photos that were still in her hand in a pocket at the back of her flannels as a platinum-haired man landed directly in front of her, causing her to jump. He took the pictures from her pocket however, and looked at them in both suspicion and wonder. He peered at her closely, coming inches away from her face before pulling back and saying in a decisive tone, 

"Tulya o amin. Lle kena i Haran." 

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'Ah yes. A strange man could ambush me, and then kill me with the bow and arrow he's packing. There's something.' She thought to herself.

She was about to ask him what he was speaking and what it meant when he grabbed her arm and began pulling her to follow him. She resisted, she dug her feet into the ground, she shrieked for help, but to no avail. Finally, she just allowed him to take her, and they began moving faster. They crossed a stream, and Daralis' pajamas trailed in it, her bare feet stinging with the cold. The pants stuck to her ankles, sending icy shivers up her legs, and so she stopped suddenly, surprising her guide into a halt. She bent down and wrung the legs out, and then rolled her pants up to the knee so the cold fabric couldn't touch her skin. The man with her watched her curiously, and when he cocked his head to one side, Daralis noticed something as his silky hair parted - his ears were pointed, just like her father's in the picture she had seen of him. She mentally noted this, but stayed silent, as she didn't know where she was, and didn't want to offend him. Besides, he most likely couldn't understand her. 

What was the point, really, in asking someone about their strange attribute and most likely insulting them if they couldn't even answer you properly?

They were on their way again. Suddenly, her guide stopped, but as Daralis was looking at a tree she didn't recognize behind them, she went straight into him. If he had given a bit, she could have stayed upright, but seeing as he stood as firm as a brick wall, she was rebounded back and landed flat on her back, looking up and cloud, sky, and then a male face as he looked over her face, looking concerned and worried. She blinked a few times, and slowly stood. 

They were going to need some kind of communication. 

She pointed to herself. "Daralis." She repeated it, until he pointed to her and said her name, causing her to smile. He gave her the same inspecting look he'd given her when she had woken up, which she stopped by pointing at him, until he told her his name.

"Alklithion."

"Um.. wow. So Big-Strong-Guide-With-Pointy-Ears-Guy won't work?" He looked at her, completely unimpressed.

"Okay, okay, sorry. Alklitheeawn?" He shook his head, looking at the ground as if disappointed.

"Alklithion," He repeated for her.

"Al-Alklithion." He gave her a nod, and a satisfied smile. She was looking around her when he spoke her name.

"Daralis," He said. She looked to him, question on her face. He pointed to a far off mountain, and they began walking in that direction, Daralis with a horrified look on her face,

"Are you mad?" He stopped, and looked at her as if she was crazy.

"I'm not climbing that thing! I am BAREFOOT!" She gestured to her feet frantically. 

He promptly scooped her up and slung her over his shoulder, and continued walking. 

They went over the mountain that way, Alklithion never faltering, and walking at the same speed he had been all day.

By about lunchtime, three things had happened. Daralis had convinced herself that that feeling in her stomach was indeed her stomach lining eating itsself- she hadn't eaten at all the day her mother died, and this was most likely two days later, she was again walking barefoot on forest floor, and they had come in view of a magnificent palace. Alklithion spoke.

"I mar narya ne i nosse narye ne Mirkwood." His voice startled her, as they had been silent for all the hours it had taken them to get there since he spoke her name the last time. 

The palace inspired even Daralis, though it was proof that she was in a different time altogether. She walked a little faster.

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'They're sure to have food in that place!'

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Daralis had been hoping for a meal. But when she arrived, she was immediately led to a large, regal looking room, with odd and even disgusted stares from the people she passed as she went by. She figured she probably stunk. By the time she got to the room, which was covered in marble and what looked like the same metal as from her mother's necklace, hung with plush fabrics and tapestries, she was completely mortified that she should meet anyone else looking as she did. She released her hair from the makeshift pony tail she had crafted by holding up her hair with a lock of spare hair. 

It was a trick her mother had taught her, although it had always worked better on her wavy, curly hair then on Daralis' silky straight locks.

She smiled thinking of her mother, and then realized that she had been left alone.

She was by herself in the room for several minutes, feeling very small indeed, while the man who had brought her there gained entrance to the connected chamber. 

She was startled when three of the strange men were escorted out by guards, and Alklithion approached her simultaneously. 

Very quickly he came back out, pulled her up and beckoned for her to follow him. She stood, and shuffled slowly with him. 

"Tulya! Lle kena i Haran!" She went a bit faster at his hurried tone, and he led her into the room he had just exited. She walked by pillars, seeing flashes of flaxen gold hair between each one, and she turned, following a rich green carpet which led to a throne at the head of a shallow marble staircase. 

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' Talk about great luck. I'm going to meet their goddamned royalty like this.'

She brought her head up, and saw who was sitting there. She gasped quickly, brought her hand up to her open mouth and whispered her next words with her lip trembling.

"Are you..? No, no you can't be. But you look like the one in the pictures.. A-are you my f-" She took a deep breath and continued. "My father?"

The man laughed, and rose form his throne to come nearer to her.

"I am not, Hen-amin, no, but I do see features of my own son in you. Along with these," Thranduil handed her the photographs of her mother and Legolas, "I have strong reason to believe that you are my granddaughter." Daralis looked up at him, as he was taller than she, in utter confusion.

"But who are you? Where am I? Where are you from?"

"One question at a time, Hen-amin. I-" He was interrupted.

"What does 'Hen-amin' mean?" Thranduil rolled his eyes.

"It means, 'my child'. And now to your questions. I am King Thranduil of Mirkwood, and your paternal grandfather. You may address me with the second title. " He smiled. "You are in Mirkwood, in Middle Earth, which is where I come from, as the roots of the Firstborn are in Middle Earth." Daralis looked utterly confused, but she had no more time to ask another question, as Thranduil took her arm and led her to one of the many doors behind the throne.

"I believe it would be wiser to continue this conversation in privacy, do you not agree?" Daralis nodded blankly and let herself be led into what looked like an office; there were books covering one entire wall, along with a desk and chairs. It was very cozy, warm and inviting, even though its space equaled about that of all of the bedrooms in her house combined. A fireplace was on one wall, with seating in front of it. The fire in the grate was dying out, and Daralis rushed to it, sat down on one of the chairs in front, and pulled it closer to the fire, rubbing her hands. 

"And now, child, I ask you- what is your name and from where do you come?"

"My name is Daralis Isolde Storms, and I'm from California, and I don't know how I got here, so don't ask." Thranduil raised an eyebrow at her brisk speech. "Grandfather..?" Daralis added as a sort of peace offering to her brisk statement. She received a smile.

"You are much like your father." Daralis' eyes showed excitement at the mention of the word, which Thranduil picked up on.

"Unfortunately, Indye, my son is part of a scouting party. Since he returned from his disappearance nineteen years ago, he has wrapped himself in work. When he is without it, it seems, he draws himself into his room and does not leave; no food, drink or company can revive him of this depression. The Elves, as you may know, can perish of grief, and as I do not wish to lose my son, I allow him the tasks he wishes." Daralis had stopped listening.

"Sorry, but who are the Elves?" Thranduil was floored.

"Surely, child, you know about your ancestors? The Elves are the legendary race of Middle Earth!"

"What do you mean, my ancestors?" Thranduil put two fingers between his eyebrows and looked at his newly-found granddaughter in disbelief. 

"But how? How can you not know?"

"Well, how would I?" At this remark, Thranduil leaned in from the other chair and peered at her right ear, which was the closest to him.

"It is as I thought. You are a Peredhil! Your mother never told you this?"

"No though she was probably planning to." She decided not to tell him the news; she didn't want to break down in sobs this early in the family reunion. Thranduil looked into her face.

"You are keeping something from me, Hen-amin. But no matter. You must know of your heritage.

"The Elves of Middle Earth are the first race that the Valar placed upon Arda. We are the immortals, our senses developed beyond those of the races we share inhabitance here with. Our sight is better, our ears more talented, our smell most tuned." Daralis swallowed nervously. She'd always had more sensitive hearing then her friends, been able to read the signs miles away on road trips with her mother, always taller than everyone else in all of her classes, and she frequently got headaches from the potency of her Aunt Melissa's perfume. Admirers followed her since childhood, from the game of house in first grade to the fourteen Prom invitations she'd gotten in her senior year of high school. Fastest student in the school, Valedictorian of her class, anything she had ever tried she had succeeded at. 

But she had always chalked all of this to good genes, and luck, and anything other reason she could satiate her mind with. It certainly wasn't with being half mythical creature from ages and ages ago.

"Now hold on just a minute. Are you trying to tell me that- that, WHAT?!" She was standing, waving her hands wildly in the air. "I'm an Elf?"

"No child, you are a Peredhil. A half-Elf. Now permit me to finish my tale. " Daralis went silent and sat down obediently, and Thranduil continued. 

"Shortly after Legolas' return, the Elves of Imladris, which is another Elven city, Daralis, called for representatives from the realms of all the free peoples of Middle Earth-Elves, Men, and.. Dwarves-" Thranduil's face had taken an unpleasant expression before continuing, "-to a council. Your father then became one of the Nine Walkers, and accompanied the Ringbearer to Mordor to destroy the One Ring. For you see, that ring was the final object the darkest lord this Earth has ever seen needed to return to his former power. Think of it this way- in your time, there was war, no doubt?"  
"Yes, there is."

"Well, when your people to go war, they go to fight other people, of their own kind. But the battle on the Pelennor Fields was a war against supernatural forces and unbeatable enemies and foes. And yet the free peoples prevailed.

"However, after the victory, he returned and fell ill. Only labor and task can help him. I believe that is sufficient information for you for right now. Perhaps your father can tell you the rest.

"I must go and tell a messenger to send for Legolas' premature return from the scouting party." Thranduil stood, and Daralis followed suit. They began walking out of the room.

"And while I do that, Hen-amin, I shall also find you a handmaiden." At the early signs of protest from Daralis, he put a hand up. "Trust me, grandchild. You are in dire need of a bath." 

Daralis stopped, and Thranduil continued on his way.

Okay, you guys, I've a few words to say!

First of all, there will usually be an Elvish Translation if I use Elvish in a chapter, but I forgot, and now (as I write this note) I can't remember what it means exactly. So. Alklithion's statements were something like "Come with me, you must see the king". And Indye means grandchild.

Thank you so very, very much to my reviewers, but it's the wee hours of the morning, so all I can do without passing out is update the story real quick. So personal thanks and comments are coming. But I just want to say that I appreciate it so much, and it really inspires me. :) Thank you all so much again.

And, as always, REVIEW! 

That is all.


	3. Preparations

Chapter Three

Daralis spent the next two hours being lavishly pampered by her newly designated handmaiden in her newly designated washroom in the royal wing of the palace. The diamond necklace rested on the marble basin, next to Daralis. Fluffy bubbles surrounded her, and scented soaps of various types were rubbed into her hair, their oil counterparts scenting her bath water and treating her skin. The fingers of her handmaiden, Imsiriel, massaged her foamy hair and she felt her muscles relax against the tub, the groove carved into the stone completely fitting her body and helping her to settle back and still be in access to Imsiriel. She released a small sigh, and closed her eyes. The steaming water rose in vaporous wafts around her, and the medley of scents filled her nose.

"You know, Imsi," Imsiriel had given Daralis permission to call her Imsi at the difficulty she had with pronouncing it at first, even though she did get it eventually. She had decided to ask Alklithion if she could call him 'Alky' later. "I could really get used to this."

"I should hope so, Princess Daralis, for now that King Thranduil has welcomed you into the royal family, he will be quite hard- pressed indeed to let you go. Not to mention your father."

"What about him?" Daralis sat up and turned, leaving Imsiriel with soapy, but empty hands.

"No, Princess, I did not mean it that way. It is just that Prince Legolas refuses to marry, and he wants no company but that of family and friends- none of the maidens in the realm can take his fancy. Oh, but all he does is pine, truth be known. I am sure that his own child will be able to cheer him up, you see." Daralis gave an accepting yet suspicious hum, and settled back to let Imsiriel finish.

"King Thranduil told me that he would send someone to tell him to come home early. Do you know when he would be back?"

"Well, Princess, they left yesterday, and so most likely Prince Legolas would be back tomorrow evening." Daralis felt the butterflies that had retreated into their chrysalises burst out and attack her insides.

"Wow.. that's very soon, isn't it?"

"Not necessarily, Princess. They may even return more quickly, for I am sure that His Majesty would have bid them rush back." 

"Oh."

"Well now, you are done. Just dip your head in," Daralis felt a hand on her head before she was pushed underwater and rinsed. She shot back out of the water, gasping madly.

"Imsi,"

"Yes, Princess?"

"Two things - Stop calling me 'Princess'. And the next time you do that rinsing thing, could you give me a bit of a warning before you do?"

"Yes, Prin- Yes, Miss, I shall." Daralis rolled her eyes.

"If it's 'Miss' or 'Princess', then I'll take 'Princess' back."

Imsiriel then rose a basin of warm water and doused Daralis with it, sudsy remnants running down her face. Her hair was swept up, and wrapped in a towel before Imsiriel held up a silken coverlet for Daralis to step into. She did so, and was ushered into a connecting room, where her breath halted at the sight that met her as she stepped through the doorway.

The deep green velvet canopy bed was covered in plush down comforters, with crisp, smooth cream colored satin sheets beneath. The rich wood of the frame had carvings of a strange font, and it shone from the light entering through the double glass doors opening to a balcony that curved to make a round outward wall to the room. The wall that separated her room from the next began a straight wall, and it was against this that her bed was placed. The forest green velvet of the canopy matched that of the curtains on the cream framed windows, which had been drawn aside and tied. An enormous wardrobe was near the door on their right side, next to which was a claw-footed looking glass, and a vanity was set up on the same wall as her bed three yards away. The floor was covered in plush deep green carpeting. A rich wood table matching that of her bed was set in the open space between her bed and the doors, and several hundred candles were on tall stands from the floor around the room, all extinguished. The tops of the two bedside tables of the same wood as her bed held candles, but the drawers they contained were empty. A desk with writing paper, multicolored inks and quills, letter wax and the crest of the royal family of Mirkwood was near the balcony, and was surrounded by candles.

Daralis was scanning the room, which was larger than the second floor of her house, as she spoke breathlessly.

"Is this my room?"

"Well yes of course, Princess. I wouldn't take you into someone else's room to dress, now would I?" Daralis cracked a smile, but she was still dazed by her living quarters. Imsiriel called her attention.

"Here are some dresses for you to wear, and you must go and be measured right away. Your father is returning tomorrow, and you must have a suitable dress to wear, and you also need a full wardrobe, as I assume you shall be staying for a while?" Imsiriel winked at her. Daralis rolled her eyes.

"Maybe you haven't seen this room. I won't be leaving unless you force me to physically, I mean." Imsiriel responded with a laugh. One of the few handmaidens who spoke the Common Tongue, Imsiriel was a stunning beauty even in her plain outfit, with flaxen hair as most of the Mirkwood Elves possessed, and a bright smile that came easily.

She opened the wooden wardrobe, and looking appraisingly at Daralis' form, selected a dress. It was midnight blue, with a velvet top layer and an opening at the stomach which revealed a satin underlayer. They both created a train behind her, and the swooping bell sleeves had a cuff of satin.

"Oh Imsi," Daralis breathed, "It's beautiful. Am **I** supposed to wear that?"

"That you are, Princess. Now dress quickly, if you will. You have to go to an appointment to be measured!"

If quickly was an hour, then Daralis' preparation time was quite long indeed. It took Imsiriel half an hour to negotiate with her newest ward an acceptable tightness for her bodice, and another to show her how to put on the dress. She left her by herself to put on the dress while she got the necessary items for pinning her hair, and when she returned fifteen minutes later, she realized that while Daralis' attempts were correct, she was donning the dress upside-down. Another half an hour to smooth it out, and fifteen more minutes to put it on correctly. Then began the hair pinning, which took an hour and a half as Imsiriel began with one hundred brush strokes to Daralis' silken brown locks. When she began to pin her hair, Daralis kept moving her head in such a way that before her hair could be secured, it had fallen down to its original state and needed to be reset with fifty brush strokes. They then had to find a place to put her necklace. Finally, after the fifteen minutes it took to get her slippers on, due to Daralis' dispute that she could and should do it herself, they left, three hours and forty-five minutes after she had risen from the tub.

"Oh, Imsi, do you think they'll be upset?"

"Princess, you are the future Sovereign of Mirkwood. In all honesty, it does not matter how upset they are."

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

It was the dinner hour in Mirkwood, and when the smells from the kitchen wafted all the way up to her room, Daralis realized that it had officially been more than two days since she had eaten. She was almost dizzy with hunger, and she sat on the bed to take a short nap before the meal. When she had fully lain on the bed, she realized something else. She was being swallowed by a cloud. She let out an audible moan at the soft, fluffy bed, the most comfortable bed she had ever been in. She fell asleep in almost an instant. 

Half an hour later, knocking on her door awakened her. Imsiriel entered, and at once glance at her she threw her hands up in the air.

"Look at you, Princess! Only hours before dinnertime and you are dozing? Up! Up, up, get up!" Daralis stretched, still slightly dazed from her sudden and unexpected wake up call. She felt an hand on her arm pulling her up.

"Come now, quickly! Change out of that dress, and into this one," Imsiriel was at the wardrobe, selecting a gown she had already decided Daralis would wear for tonight. It was a satin, champagne colored gown that followed her figure, unlike the belled skirts of the one she had worn that day. The neck line tapered down, and halfway down the shoulders the sleeves began, more bell sleeves that hung low when she rose her arms. The gown split, revealing white, gauzy satin, both of which went into the train, which trailed two feet behind her. The cuffs of her sleeves were of the same white satin as her underlayer, and her slippers were made of the same champagne fabric as her dress. Imsiriel let her hair down and brushed it another one hundred times, then swept it behind her. She put on her mother's necklace.

"You look amazing, Princess. Stunning. " Daralis smiled at her, but then they were interrupted by a knock on the door. Daralis opened it, to see Thranduil waiting for her. Imsiriel curtsied low and stayed that way.

"Kin- Grandfather, what are you doing here?"

"I have come to escort you to dinner, of course." Daralis nervously bit her lip. She had no idea of what manners were expected of her, or how to use the silverware here, or how to speak to the other guests, if they could understand each other at all

"Daralis?" Thranduil waved a hand in front of her face. She snapped out of her daze. 

"What? What is it? Imsi, stand up, would you?" Imsiriel did so, blushing furiously as she looked at Thranduil.

"Your Majesty, if I may?" Thranduil gave Imsiriel leave to speak with a wave of his hand.

" Princess Daralis.. is having a problem with adjusting to our customs. She will not allow me to call her by her title, Highness, and dressing her that is another story altogether." Thranduil raised an eyebrow.

"I see. However, Imsiriel, while these issues are of importance, they must be addressed at a later time. It is time for dinner, and my granddaughter has not eaten all day, to my knowledge."

"Will all due respect, Highness, for I ask this question out of ignorance, does it make a difference?"

"Indeed it does, Lady Imsiriel! She has lived her life as a human thus far! Surely her habits cannot simply perish in a matter of mere hours?" The king held out his arm, and Imsiriel instructed Daralis as to how to properly take it. They left the room with Imsiriel calling out instructions behind them -

"Keep your back straight, Princess! Head held high, yes, like that! Walk with smaller steps, you will be considered oafish" They went on for quite a while, thanks to the sensitive ears of the two walking, and when Daralis could hear no more, Thranduil dictated for her.

"She would like you to speak softly, and properly, and to move little as she does not wish for you to wrinkle your gown or upset your hair"

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Dinner had been a relatively silent affair. Daralis had been introduced to the nobles that would be joining them. Lord Palansirion, who worked with Mirkwood's Army forces, Lord Rûdhrûthen, who worked with the border guards, and other such important figures of the court whose names she could not pronounce properly.

But Daralis sat there in silence, aside from the polite introduction and the necessary answers to the generic questions she was being asked. She ate, but her hunger had subsided as her meeting with her father came nearer. She managed to eat one dish before she was altogether a mess. 

"If you'll excuse me, I'm really tired. I think I'll go to bed early." She rose, along with everyone else at the table.

"Well you don't have to come with me, I'm sure I'll be alright," Confused, she began to walk, and they sat back down. She raised an eyebrow, but continued.

She was quickly becoming lost in the labyrinth that was the royal floor when she heard a soft, almost familiar voice behind her.

"Are you lost, penneth?" She whirled around, her gown following her, to see who had spoken. When he stepped forward and into the light cast by the nearest sconce on the wall, she gasped, her eyes filling with tears.

"It's you.. It's really you."

Penneth- Little one, I think. Hehe. I forget.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ORLANDO BLOOM! :) 

I'm sorry for the cliffhanger- sort of. Maybe if I get a lot of reviews, I'll update really, really soon! (HINT, HINT!!!!!!!!!)


	4. A New Princess

Chapter Four

Daralis stared, unbelieving, at who she saw. It was him, just as he had been in the pictures, same golden hair, same sapphire eyes. 

After several moments of just staring at each other, she was greeted with the same dazzling smile.

"Yendeamin." Daralis' eyebrows slanted down in a frown at her father.

"What are you doing here? You're not supposed to be here until tomorrow."

"When I heard that you had appeared, I came all the faster. " He was stepping closer to her, his eyes shining with tears. When he put his arms out to embrace her, however, she stepped back warily. 

"Don't touch me," she hissed lowly. Legolas stood there in shock, eyes wide.

"How can you say such a thing to me?"  
"Easy enough! How could you leave us like that?" Now Legolas was frowning.

"Your mother bade me go. I told her I wanted not to, but she asked it so eagerly of me.. After all she had done for me, I could never have denied her any request." Daralis turned on her heel and stormed away from him, seeing red. Her mother would have never done that; she would have known that her daughter needed a father. 

Finally, she found her bedroom. As soon as she had closed the door behind her and slid down its length with tears in her eyes, soft knocking was heard upon the door. She stood up quickly, and opened it, to be face to face for the second time in all her nineteen years with her father.

She quickly wiped her eyes, crossed her arms and threw him a glare, which was met with confusion.

"Why is it, Yendeamin Daralis, that you harbor such ill will against me?" She turned away from him quickly, because the question infuriated her. If she didn't even know, how was she supposed to tell him? A part of her wanted to leap into his arms, and tell him of her life, and get to know him. She naturally felt love for him, he was her father, but the anger she also felt, that drowned out complete love and trust, she couldn't explain.   
But apparently, something inside of her could, as she had whirled around to face him again, and began speaking, her volume raising steadily while she did.

"You want to know why? I'll tell you why. It's because of you that I was alone!"

"When were you ever alone? Surely your mother must have taken care of you?"  
"Yes. She did. But when I sat in that hospital room by myself, and held her hand while she **died**, alone, there was **noone** to come home to, **noone** to help me through it, **noone** for anything! She left, she left **me**, and if you hadn't already done the same, I would have had someone, anyone, to be there for me!" 

She blinked, causing the blistering tears in her eyes to cascade down her flushed cheeks, and she saw for the first time since the beginning of her emotional tirade the horrified look on Legolas' face.

"What did you say? Rhiannon.. she is but she cannot be." Daralis paused, studied his face quickly, and continued.

"She died. Two days ago."

"How?" There was abhorrence and shock in his face, trepidation in his whispered voice, and devastated tears in his eyes.

"She She just started getting weaker, and depressed, and she would go into her room for hours at a time, sometimes she wouldn't eat. I had to force feed her once. It was the worst thing I have ever had to do.

"It went on like that for years, before finally she was so weak that she had to go to the hospital, and she- she died two weeks after that." Daralis' eyes were facing the floor, and her mind was racing, as if retelling the story made it all true- when all she wanted to believe was that it had never happened. 

The anger she felt reared up again.

"But it's not as if you care. And that's why I'm angry- you didn't even care about my mother enough to stay. And if you had stayed, she probably wouldn't have-" Legolas' face became clouded in anger.

"If I had not left, Rhiannon would never have come to existence, and neither would you. How you can say such things to me, I shall never know, but I can tell you this. I loved Rhiannon more than anything. Which is why I left. I had to put her, and you, above myself and what I wanted. So I came back to complete what I then knew would be the future. What do you think I would rather have been doing? Raising my child alongside the love of my expansive, unending life, or roaming Middle Earth and becoming an inactive figurehead in my realm, attending the pointless councils and boresome dinners of my fathers?"

His words produced nothing, which was made obvious when Daralis looked him straight in the eyes, those glowing blue orbs whose brilliance mirrored her own, and spat back,

"I think I'm beginning to be glad you left."

"I will never be," he responded, sorrow in his voice. It softened his daughter.

"Well, at least you remember her as being beautiful, don't you?"  
"Yes, but it makes no difference. I did not fall in love with her beauty. I would rather have had decades of memories, no matter the appearance or condition, than the short time we had together." When Daralis said nothing, he continued.

"Do you know, daughter mine, that constantly, every second we had together, every word, every experience runs continually through my mind? Before her, it was the call of the sea, but after I returned, it was nothing but she. Those memories are all I have, and I have promised myself never to forget them. I gave her that necklace, " He said, gesturing to the chain around Daralis' neck. She placed her hand over the stone. Tears were now running down her cheeks hurriedly, as if they had somewhere to be, a meeting they were late for on the front of her gown.

"And now," Legolas went on, "You have come. I can see your mother in you. You have her eyes."

"But not her color."

"You are right, Yende. The color is mine." Daralis looked at him again and realized that he was right.

And then finally, finally and for the first time, she embraced her father.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Daralis arose the next morning with a headache. After staying up for hours talking with her father, she had lain in her new bed wide awake for hours, thinking about her mother. She still had her necklace on, and was rubbing the stone, staring at the dark velvet above her head, when a knock at the door announced Imsiriel's arrival.

"Princess, you have missed breakfast already. The court is curious about you, and Prince Legolas is worried. Are you well?"

"I'm fine, Imsi, I'm just sleepy. Did my father tell you that we met last night?"

"Yes, he did inform me of that."

"Well, good. After that, we stayed up talking and then, I laid awake thinking about my mother." She sat up and turned towards Imsiriel. "Do you think she can see me, Imsi? Like, right now, see me? Because I've been thinking, and I think that if she can, she's happy. She knew what I went through without him, and she'd be so happy if she could see me right now, wherever she is."

Imsiriel had taken on an extremely uncomfortable look.

"Princess, I do not believe that it is my place to speak with you over such things."

"It's a simple yes or no question, Imsi."

"Princess, please. I cannot. Excuse me." And she left, leaving Daralis worried and saddened. But not solaced.

Five minutes later, Legolas entered the room, a concerned look on his face.

"What is the matter, Daralis?" By then, tears were filling her eyes, as they had become prone to doing lately.

"It's nothing. I'm just sleepy."

"Imsiriel said that you were troubled, Daralis."

"I'm fine. I am hungry, though."

"Look at me, Daralis." His tone was more commanding, and she did so. He gazed at her with a piercing stare before speaking.

"Your mother is on your mind." Daralis sighed.

"My mother has been on my mind my entire life."

"But now, you are distressed."

"It's nothing." Daralis stood, and went to the door. Opening it, she spoke briefly. "I'm hungry, can we go down and get something to eat?"

"Well, in your nightclothes, you cannot." Daralis looked down sheepishly.

"Oh."

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

After a two hour ordeal with Imsiriel, Daralis was finally ready to eat. Unfortunately, something had been brought up for her, and she was no longer hungry.

"Talk about 'all dressed up and no where to go'", she muttered to herself, hair pinned, face powdered and accented, and pale pink dress of satin fastened tight. Her mother's necklace was again around her neck. Imsiriel, hearing her, spoke while collecting her night gown for the laundresses.

"You have complete freedom over this kingdom, Princess. I am sure you can find something to do that will interest you."

"Any suggestions?"

"You could go to the archery targets, the stables, the gardens, or the bathing springs," Imsiriel replied.

"I can't shoot a bow, I can't ride a horse, and I'm not quite ready for communal bathing, so I guess the gardens it is. Could you tell me where they are?"  
"Yes, Princess. You leave from the west exit of the Royal Family Wing, which you will get to by turning right from this room, and going straight past eight halls, then turning left at the fork you shall come to, and going right again after thirteen doors. After you have left, the gardens are five-hundred paces northeast."

"Umm.. okaaaay." Imsiriel looked pleased.

"Splendid. I must go now and give these to the laundresses, find out what will be served tonight and plan your dress accordingly, and go to the seamstress to see if she has finished any of the clothes that were commissioned for you." She gave her dependent a nod, and turned and left before Daralis could protest.

Daralis stood, went to her door, and opened it, trying to remember the directions to the gardens. "

"Okay turn right, go past four halls? No, that's not enough six halls, yes, that sounds right. Okay. " At the sixth hall, she turned left, beginning her turmoil. She counted thirteen doors, and turned right, to be faced with a grand hall filled with what looked like girls her own age, perhaps a year or two older, done up more than she was and simply milling around. Confused, she stepped down the spiraling staircase, lifting her belled gown as she went. The girls slowly, one by one began to pause and look at her. She stepped off the last step, every eye in the grand room on her, immensely uncomfortable. 

Daralis shifted slowly through the room, very aware of her audience, in a desperate search for a familiar face. There were four that she knew in this kingdom, and none of them were present. Finally, she just paused, turned around and decided to ask for help. She went to one of the girls, and spoke.

"I'm sorry to bother you, but could you tell me where the gardens are?" She was met with an expression of utter confusion.

" Amin uume lle sairya." A look of apology was on her fair face.

"Great, that's just fucking perfect," she muttered under her breath. And then, she watched and listened a the girls in the hall gasped, and began primping their hair, and dresses, looking collectively at the head of the staircase. She turned, and, relieved, saw Legolas.

"Your mother liked that word, as well, Daralis." With a smile (which caused little whimpers and sighs from the crowd), he descended to his child. 

"I have been looking all over for you!" He exclaimed, giving her a peck on the cheek.

Then, taking one of her arms in his and without so much as glancing at the occupants of the hall, he led her back up the staircase, leaving surprised, impressed, and jealous she-elves behind them.

Elvish Translation:

Amin uume lle sairya. - I can't understand you.

Okay, I know - MEAN CLIFFHANGER! Last chapter, I mean, Which is why I've put this one up so soon. Also, it's to sort of calm you - I'm going to be out of town this weekend, and then next week is finals week, so really, you shouldn't expect an update until next weekend. And I also know that I hadn't updated in general for a while, but that's because I was writing! And I think that's it. Yeah.

Maybe if you leave a review, I can do well on my finals.

P.S. I'm really not kidding about the reviews- they make me SOOOOO happy. I think they're really amazing, and usually when I have a lot, I end up updating whether I planned to or not. Okay, that's it.


	5. Preparations

Chapter Five

They walked arm in arm, back through the halls to retrace her steps to the gardens, Legolas speaking to her the entire time.

"I have been speaking with my father all morning, Daralis, and we have come to a possible solution for your dilemma."

"I have a dilemma?"

"Yes, yende, you do. You do not speak the language of the subjects in your realm, you do not know their customs."

"But this isn't my realm. And who were those women?"

"Ah, but it is," he said, ignoring her question. "My father will not rule these Elves for much longer. He will depart for Valinor in a matter of years. And then, though I shall be in control, I also have Ithilien, near Gondor, to govern, and so I cannot always be here. In my absence, you shall act as sovereign." Legolas replied matter-of-factly.

"What?!" Daralis had frozen in place, staring at Legolas with a horrified look on her face. "Sovereign?"

"Yes, Miire-nin, and you would be in a great deal of distress if an emergency were to arise now, some skirmish with Orcs, for example, in which case both Father and I would need to leave, placing you in charge."

"Orcs? What in the Hell are Or-"

"And so what Father and I have devised is a schooling plan for you. You will learn Sindarin, Quenya, the political structure of Mirkwood, and common manners and courtesies as well as those for extremely important, extremely formal dinners. What is your opinion?"

"Sindarin? Quenya? Sovereign?! What the fu-"

"Daralis, I asked you a question. What do you think of the lessons?"

"Fine, fine, fine, I'll take them, when do I start?! Shit! I'll be the destruction of Mirkwood!"

" I would not be so raucous in my doubt if I were you Dara," Legolas said to her, leaning in to whisper in her ear. "Remember the Elven hearing."

"Eh," she replied with a look of disgust and annoyance on her face.

They continued their walk into the gardens, Legolas silencing Daralis' mutters of distress.

"You will be fine, Daralis. But you will have to be focused. And you should remember always that this is very, very important." Daralis nodded, and he continued.

"Listen to me, Dara. The journey I left on the eve of your arrival was to end in Imladris. There, I would spend a year, to strengthen the bonds of the Elven cities. Instead now, of staying one year, I will stay half of one year, and you, daughter, shall be with me. Roughly four and a half months will be spent on your training, and you will then leave Mirkwood with me to visit Imladris. 

"The trip is important to leave a positive, lasting impression on Elrond, Lord of Imladris, because if anything should happen to Mirkwood, then both he and Imladris will be one of your greatest allies. Is this understood?" They had arrived. They stopped, and he gestured for her to sit down on the carved stone bench they were passing. After she did so, she looked up at him and replied,

"Yes, I understand."

"Good. You will begin your lessons in three days."

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Daralis had awoken late on the morning of her first Sindarin lesson, and only then by Imsiriel's incessant pounding on the door.

"Princess! Princess, you shall be late! PRINCESS DARALIS!!"

The door opened just as Imsiriel turned to get someone who could open the door by force. Daralis stuck her head out, resembling Medusa with her hair slovenly, a trail of spittle tacking a scaly path from her mouth to her chin, and eyes and lashes covered in a dried, sleepy, crust. Imsiriel took one look and let out a short yelp.

"Princess, what are you doing? Your first lesson is in two hours, and you have not dressed or eaten breakfast yet!"

"Whaa?" Daralis replied groggily.

"Sweet Eru!" Imsiriel rushed in, yanking Daralis in behind her. She quickly began filling the bath, while selecting a delicate silk lavender dress with a deep purple velvet cloak for her to wear, then setting out her brush and slippers to prepare her. She went to the door quickly to call for someone to bring a light breakfast up, and then finished the bath. Daralis sat in a daze at her table, watching all this occur. Fruit, bread, cheese and juice were brought up to her, but before she could begin eating, Imsiriel had her in the bathing chamber, preparing for her bath.

"Come now, Princess, out of your clothes and into the bath. You can eat your breakfast in there."

And so, sure enough, there was Daralis in the bath, hair being soaped and a piece of melon in her mouth, preparing a bite of bread and cheese for herself. She ate what she could for what part of her body was being washed, and it seemed to be working-until just as she raised the golden goblet of fruit juice to her lips, Imsiriel poured another basin of water over her head to rinse out the soap.

"ACK! Imsi! You promised!" Daralis was spluttering, the juice spreading through the water, tinting it cerise.

"I am sorry, Princess. I am just in such a hurry you only have one hour now! Get out, get out, before you get all sticky with the juice, hurry, come now!"

"Gee, I wonder who's to blame for THAT?" Daralis muttered to herself sarcastically.

"No time, Princess!"

Daralis sat at her vanity in her dress, and Imsiriel began the ritual of brushing Daralis' hair for one hundred strokes.

"Imsiriel, can I please just have my hair down today? Or at least not all pinned up? We don't have a lot of time here." She looked at Imsiriel pleadingly.

"Yes, I suppose, but only for today," Imsiriel replied, pulling strands from the sides of her hair and twisting them to hold back the rest of her hair. She pinned them in the back with an intricate hairpin, encrusted with purple jewels of various shades. She lightly powdered her face, rubbed shaded balm on her lips, and helped her into her slippers until she was deemed properly prepared. Then it was off, in a rush, to the Royal Wing Study, in which she would have the lesson.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Daralis stepped into the chamber, a man was already there, flaxen hair swept behind his pointed ears, and head bent down into a book.

"I'm really, really sorry, am I late?" His head snapped up, and his face took on a luminous smile. Looking into his eyes, Daralis could tell that the were a bold hazel. He was very attractive, she decided.

"No, Princess Daralis. You are not late. Two seconds later and you would have been, but you are not now."

Daralis smiled in relief.

"Good."

"Please," he gestured to an large, round, ornate table with two four plush chairs arranged around it. "Sit."

She did so, smiling sheepishly at him as he sat next to her. He laid out a long scroll, with Elven script on it.

"Currien ess nîn, lle quetil . Naa ess lîn?"

She stared at him with a blank, dreamy sort of stare, which apparently, he found funny, because he laughed."

" It means, 'Currien is my name, I will be your teacher. What is your name?' "

"Oh. Well, um" Professor Currien stopped her from speaking, vicariously preventing her from butchering the language, and making a fool of herself.

She liked him already.

Now, Princess, I realize that you cannot read these words, or even the symbols yet, but you will in time. I promise. Now, repeat after me. 'Quel re." He pointed to the page.

"'Quel re."

"Very good. That is 'Good day'. 'Quel amrun."

"'Quel amrun." Pointed again, to a different symbol.

"That is 'good morning'. 'Quel andune."

"'Quel andune."

"'Good afternoon.' 'Quel undome."

"'Quel undome."

"And that is' Good evening.' Very good, Princess, your pronunciation is near excellence already."

"Thank you very much, Professor Currien."

"Now, what you have just learned are greetings. A formal greeting is Mae govannen."

"Mae govannen."

"Very good. It means 'well met'. That will work when addressing your people, and other diplomats.

"Now try this : Vanya sulie,"

" Vanya sulie. What does that mean?"

"It means, 'fair winds'. That will also work with diplomats and your people." Daralis nodded. "Try to repeat them back to me now."

"Umm, okay. Let's see 'Quel re. 'Quel amrun. 'Quel andune. Quel undome. Mae govannen. Vanya sulie."

"Fantastic! Very good, highness." Daralis rolled her eyes at the title, and continued.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

After the day of lessons was done, Daralis returned to her room, reciting the terms she had learned in her head. When she got to the hall where the family slept, she noticed some of the girls from the day she was lost standing there. They all watched her closely, and so she decided to try some of the words she'd learned today.

"Mae govannen," she said unsteadily, trying to test their reactions. They raised their eyebrows and what looked like the main one replied testily to her,

"Aaye." 

Immensely confused, and not sure what had been said to her, she smiled again and said,

"Vanya sulie!" turned down the corridor, and quickly went into her room, leaving them tittering jealously behind her.

Elvish Translation:

Aaye. - Hail.

A/N: Okay, you might not have gotten that last part, I'm not sure, but the point is that they are upset with her. You'll find out why laaaaterrrrr. :)


	6. Emergencies

Chapter Six

"They hate me!" Daralis exclaimed as she sat up, brambles in her hair and a light layer of dust covering her face. "My grandfather hates me. My father hates me! They're making ride this fucking horse because they hate me. This is absolutely absurd, for fuck's sake!"

Her horse, Morwinyon, trotted past her looking down in what looked to her like concern. A strong Elven steed, he was the son of the two most magnificent horses in the realm. His coat was a deep, resplendent, mahogany, and his mane and tail were the same shade as her own hair, a intense, Cimmerian chocolate. 

She had been in riding and archery lessons for two months, and was beginning to get the hang of things- despite what it may have seemed.

Morwinyon turned, and stopped to look at her and wait for her to get back up and back on him, but she sat there for a minute, leaving her horse very annoyed.

The Elven stallion twisted its head and neighed at her, nuzzling at her side for her to get up. She pulled herself up by the saddle, and stood.

"No way I'm getting back on that cumwad of a horse. Someone else can ride him or whatever it is that needs to be done. I'm going inside."

She stormed back up the muddy road to calls from Voronion, her riding instructor. Her rear was covered in dirt and mud, making her green riding skirts a cloudy grayish color. Legolas came dashing down to her.

"Dara, we must leave for Rivendell immediately. As soon as possible. We are going tomorrow morning." He looked worried.

"What? But why?" Daralis could feel the tense energy radiating from him.

"We have just received word that Orcs are on their way here, and we need assistance. We are going tomorrow morn, then the Rivendell armies will depart to assist Mirkwood, and you will stay in Rivendell until we return. We will then begin our diplomatic stay."

"But I thought that I was supposed to rule if Orcs attacked?"

"You are not yet ready, Dara. This is far too important."

"Well I could have told ya that."

"Not important, Miire-nin! Go and tell Lady Imsiriel to help you pack for the trip and for your stay. Go now!" Daralis rolled her eyes and began running to the castle while Legolas continued down the road to tell Voronion about the news.

Back in her room, Daralis and Imsiriel stuffed things into large, gilded trunks- gowns, slippers, brushes, her custom assembled combs and custom mixed blushes and powders, pillow("It's a thing I have," she informed Imsiriel),in one, and her stationery, more gowns and slippers in another, and a third completely filled with gowns and slippers.

"Imsi, do you mind if I ask you a question? I mean, it's just been on my mind for a few months now, and I think you could answer it for me."

"Of course, Princess."

"Well, a few days after I arrived, I was looking for my father, and I found this room full of all these women in formal wear. I was just wondering what that was there for."

Imsiriel's eyebrows were raised.

"Princess, you must keep an open mind when I tell you this, and do not jump to conclusions."

"Um, okay."

"They are concubines."

"WHAT?!?"

"Concubines, Princess, but you must listen to me!"

"I can't believe he keeps a hall full of fucking concubines!"

"But Princess, you must realize that-"

"That lying shit. How dare he tell me that my mother meant something to him when all she was was a glorified, modernized-"

"Stop it, Princess! You father has never touched a concubine in his countless centuries. His Highness Thranduil had them brought in hopes of striking his fancy, but the father and son had a large argument over it. They did not speak for a while, in fact."

Daralis was speechless looking at her handmaiden.

"Imsi, I want you to come with me," Daralis said, sitting on her bed and holding the hands of her only non-related friend, who was standing before her.

"I cannot, Princess, but I shall wish you pleasant tidings and plenty of fortune whilst you are there," Imsiriel replied.

Daralis took on a grumpy frown. "Well, what if I refused to go unless you could come, too?"

"Princess, please. Do not get yourself into trouble for my sake, especially since you do not need me with you."

"Like hell I don't! I can't _dress_ myself, Imsi!"

"Princess, no. I am sure they will have dressing mistresses in Rivendell, I cannot let you do this."  
"Well, you're no fun."

"I apologize."

"Don't apologize, I was trying to get to you," Daralis said, exasperated.

"Princess, please do not despair. We shall meet again when you return!"

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Later, departing Mirkwood in Morwinyon's saddle with her subjects behind her waving farewell, Daralis whispered quietly to herself the formal Elven greetings and farewells. She rode beside her father, with guards behind her, to the right side of her, and one in front of her. Legolas had guards on his left. 

There were pack horses carrying the necessary supplies for a two week trip, although with their rush they would arrive in one week- if not sooner. 

The traveling was all scheduled, and Daralis knew that both the guards and her father could ride the entire way without resting or even eating, and even the horses would manage with scarce rest. 

She was determined not to slow anyone down in this, her first duty to her realm and its citizens.

After one day's riding, she was exhausted, but refused to show it. While the horses were resting around noon the next day, she ate, but by the time she had closed her eyes from a few minutes, they were ready to continue. 

After four days without incident, Daralis was living on fifteen minutes of sleep and a piece of lembas bread.

On the fifth day, Legolas turned to her.

"Dara, are you feeling well?" His resplendent face held a worried look.

"What?" Daralis was drifting in and out of a hazy cloud caused by no food or sleep.

"I asked you if you were feeling well."

"I'm feeling fine, thanks."

"Dara.." Legolas responded, disbelieving.

"I said I'm fine, Atar. Thank you for asking," she added to her defensive argument. 

She probably looked like shit, and she knew it. In fact, she was pretty sure the next time she visited a bush to urinate the water she was constantly drinking to keep her awake, she would collapse into a deep sleep only to wake hours later, on her side, riding skirts hiked above her waist and bottom covered in either a rash or a venomous bite from the nature she'd learned so little about.

But there was no time to worry about that.   
Which was probably why, as the royal party reached the sight of far off Imladris on their sixth day of riding, Princess Daralis of Mirkwood slipped unconsciously off her horse.

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"There is no time, Legolas. The troops must leave, and leave immediately. You know that she shall be in good hands here. If you are to leave, you must go now."

"Lord Elrond, as always, I welcome your counsel, but how can I leave my child in this manner? She has never visited Imladris, and if she should wake before I return to her, what shall happen then?"

" I understand your concern, Legolas, but you must keep the safety of your people in your heart as well as that of your family. If you stay now, it shall be for the entire battle."

"She will wake up to an alien land and an alien people. She will know no one. Imagine her fright."

"I am sorry for your choice, Legolas. But still, you must make it."

With a sorrowful heart, Legolas lifted his bow and followed Elrond Half-Elven out of the hospital wing of Imladris.

A.N.: I have absolutely no idea how long it takes to get from Mirkwood to Rivendell, but as you will see later, they are in a rush, and so I'm going to allot one week. Hopefully I shan't be jailed.

Hehe you likey? Good! REVIEW! I'm sorry it's been so long.. I promise to work extra hard and get the next chapter out much more quickly.

REVIEW!!!


	7. First Impression

Chapter Seven

"Elbereth, Dara. I thought I had lost you." Legolas was speaking with a stern look.

"I know, father." Daralis was looking abashedly at her blanketed lap.

"_That_ is not true. You do _not_ know. I lost your mother," Daralis winced, but still he continued. "To lose you would kill me, Daralis. It would end my endless life. Why would you be so stupid?" Hot tears, full of hurt, pricked Daralis' eyes at these words.

"I didn't want to hold us up. I knew we were in a rush, the Orcs were coming, and I didn't want-"

"Dara, nothing is more important to me than your safety. I cannot believe you would do something like this. I was beside myself!"

"I lost her too! Stop scolding me, for fuck's sake," she snapped sharply back at him.

"Utter all the curses you want, I am one of the few here who knows what that word means- and plenty of others as well."

Daralis rolled her teary eyes at Legolas, who was sitting at her bedside in her room in Rivendell. 

A balcony spanning one wall gave her a stunning view of the delicate building and intricate constructions of Imladris, and her cream colored room with the filmy canopy bed let in enough light to create the illusion of perpetual summertime. The dark clouds of Legolas' fury filled the space at the time, however, completely darkening the mood of both father and daughter.

She was staring at her lap again, this time fury on her own visage, until she was pulled out of her fuming by Legolas' regretful voice.

"I should have known. I saw it, and I should have known. Rhiannon would be so disappointed in me." Daralis looked up in surprise even as the hot tears filled her eyes.

"I was just thinking that," she husked, her voice raw with emotion.

"I just want so much to please her, it is all I have ever wanted, and Dara, you are all I have left. All I have left to make me happy, because I did not think I could go on any longer. Imagine having a burning, striking, hollow pain in your heart always. When you reach the kind of grief that leaves you with physical pain, always there. I loved her more than anything. I would have died for her. And just think, my sweet Dara, think for just a moment, going on, because you have not a choice, knowing there is no point to doing anything, going on, day by day, doing the same things, what you are expected to do, without question, all the time feeling that pain, feeling empty inside. And having no other option, because every time you close your eyes for more than just a second, you see her, you see what you had, you dream what your child, who you have never seen, held, heard, kissed, encountered, you dream what she could look like, and these thoughts, these thoughts give you such happiness, that to be without them would suck you dry." 

She was crying openly and tears began to fall down his ivory cheeks.

"Atar" Daralis began, just as he said to her, slight choked up,

"I have not cried since the night I came back, Daralis. Not since then." 

She sat up and reached to wrap her arms around him and place kisses on both his cheeks.

"I missed the funeral," She said flatly into his shoulder.

"What?" He sat her back up.

"God, I missed it! My last chance my last chance to say goodbye"

"You were too busy saying hello," Legolas filled in for her. "Do not blame yourself for it, Dara, I know she would rather you be happy here than miserable there."

"I know she would too, but that's not important. I should've been there, I should've paid my respects. And besides.. knowing I missed it makes me miserable. Can you imagine? My own mother's funeral and I wasn't even there! Aunt Melissa must be beside herself. I hope Uncle Matt is alright with her. God, Atar, what's going on? All the people I left behind.. there must have been some kind of search for me I can't believe I'm just thinking of this now."

"Miire, they would understand and be happy for you. They would also want you to be healthy. Right now, you have to rest. And eat. And everything else you so conveniently forgot to do."

"Alright, but tell me first- how was the battle?" Legolas laughed.

"It was more of a skirmish than a battle, Dara. But it went very well. We were victorious, and had few casualties. "

"Why are the orcs here, anyway?"

"We are not sure. Their master is gone and their numbers are few- with time, they will easily be wiped out. They are a vile race and even one is too many, especially when it threatens my realm or the realm of my allies." He changed the subject.

"The Imladris troops are returning later, Daralis. I left early to see if you were awake yet."

"Can I go and see them when they come back?"  
"Yes, but only if you have rested enough."

She rolled her eyes again, but this time they were dry. "Okay."  
When Legolas left, she arose from her bed and went to run a bath and take out a pure white gown. She'd heard about a feast, and she wasn't going in her nightgown.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

After Daralis rose from the tub and got herself into her gown, she sat at the vanity and brushed her hair, with a goal of one hundred strokes. Somehow she knew that Imsiriel would know if she didn't.

She was rubbing a moisturizing salve on her face when she heard the fanfare and cheering coming from outside. She stood like a shot and rushed to the window to look outside, where she saw horses approaching and Elves waving, heard their cheers and yells. She slipped on her shoes and quickly left the room.

Daralis rushed to the bridge above the gates of Rivendell to watch the battle party come in. Her father, Lord Elrond, and various other officials were at the gates to meet them directly at their arrival, and the other citizens of Imladris were crowded on a lower platform, closer to the heroes. She saw two riders bearing a body between them on a rigged cot.

She stood alone, a light breeze picking up her dark silky locks, which were left down, and crisp with curl at the ends from the brushing. The wind picked up her ivory gown, casting it around her figure in a sort of sensual attack. The sun behind cast a glow around her and through the delicate gown, making her shine and seem godly. Her excitement made her blue eyes sparkle and her smile bright. 

It was in this way that Elladan of Imladris first saw her as he looked up, shining above all the others in flawed perfection as she laughed and clapped. Their eyes met, and she smiled only for him, at him, which sent a shivery feeling down his spine and through his stomach. She waved, at him and then all of them, and then turned quickly to go and prepare for the welcoming feast. He watched her as far as he could and stared at the spot, feeling utterly bothered and not a little alarmed.

I know, I know, way short, but like I said before, I want to get this thing on the road, and plus I don't think that the stuff from the next chapter will fit well.

REVIEW!!! Or something dark this way will sure as shit come.


	8. Revelations

Chapter Eight

Elladan arrived at the gate, jumping down and going to embrace his father as a stable-hand took the horse to the stables. But the news he bore was not all good.

"Atar, talant Elrohir e i ohta. I do not know what happened. I turned around to see him this way. But one sentinel I spoke to told me that he was out numbered and attacked by three orcs."

" Get him to the Healing Houses," Elrond spoke to the two carrying him between their horses. Then he turned to Elladan. "You have done well, Elladan. Do not fret for your brother, I am sure he will be well again." Elladan nodded, and turned to Legolas. 

He placed his hand on Legolas' shoulder in the traditional Elven greeting, and they embraced.

"Ah, Legolas. How do you fare? "

"I fare quite well, Elladan, thank you. I am sorry to hear of the condition of your brother."

"I am as well, Legolas, but I do not worry for him. He is very strong. All he needs is some rest."

Legolas smiled. "Well, there is some good news."

They turned, waving to the people, and began to walk inside.

"Legolas," Elladan began, "You have said nothing of a feast. Am I to believe that there shall be no festivities?"

"Of course not, Elladan. There shall be a feast in the honor of Imladris and its victory. Why do you ask?"  
"Legolas, festivity is the best part of battle." He received an arched brow in response.

"And what of the battles that are not won?"

"The lack of festivity is part of what makes them so disappointing," Elladan smirked.

They walked to the palace laughing together.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Daralis looked at herself in the glass. She had changed from the white gown to a deep red one of crushed velvet and satin. She wore matching slippers, and her mother's necklace. 

She sat at the vanity and began preparing herself further.

She left her hair down, something Imsiriel would never have let her do, and was applying paints and charcoals to her face, when she heard a knock on the door.

"Who is it ?"  
"Atar, Dara." was the reply.

She rushed to the door, opened it, and went back to the vanity. Legolas looked exasperated.

"Dara, Miire-nin, they are expecting us at the celebratory feast." She looked at him in the mirror while dotting raspberry tint on her lips.

"I'm almost done! Anyway," she added, "Haven't you ever heard of being fashionably late?"

"Dara, please, you must remember that this is your chance to prove yourself to Imladris and its people. We must go now."

"Fine, I'm done anyway! Let's go."

They left, and walked through the halls to arrive at the great hall, where the feast was to be held. They walked through the doors linked to the Royal Wing, and the fanfare or horns sounded as they walked through.

Elladan's head turned to the new arrivals, and he was shocked to see Legolas enter with the maiden from earlier. 

Luckily for him, the Elven emotion is a complex, and mostly hidden thing, or the dismay he felt would also have been projected across the room. 

Instead, a simple royal smile graced his face, but then a wince as he saw that the two seats next to him could only be reserved for them.

Daralis sat down next to the Elf she had seen ride into Imladris earlier that day, and her face took on a slight blush, as she did find him quite attractive.

The food was served, and Elladan asked her if she wanted any of the wine. She looked at Legolas, whose attention was elsewhere. He was speaking to the Elf next to him, and Daralis looked back at Elladan with a smile while nodding her head in the affirmative.

He smiled back at her, and poured her some in a crystal goblet which matched his and the others at the table.

She took a sip, and was rewarded with the sweet taste of Elven wine- completely unlike the wine she had tasted with her friends and her mother. She smiled at him again.

"Thank you."

"Of course, milady. It would have been rude of me not to." Another smile.

Each of them made him dizzy. She was enchanting him, he could physically feel it as it happened. He wanted to joke, and laugh, and offer her wine forever, if it would bring that smile out, he wanted to commission a work of art with her smile in it, wanted to keep her in a state of happiness for as long as he had sight.

And so he kept speaking.

And with each melodious word Daralis heard, she wanted to hear two more. Each word he spoke filled her mind, every note he uttered, every emotion displayed in the silver eyes, every gesture with those wide hands, every time his ebony hair contrasted with the paleness of his cheek, her heart soared. 

And so she kept smiling.

And it would have continued in this, this loving but vicious cycle, if the music had not stuck up all of a sudden. Elladan stood, and asked her to dance.

She stood nervously, and spoke quickly to him.

"I don't know how to do this."

"You shall be fine."

"No, really. I don't know how." He was leading her out to the dance floor now, and she was almost there. No turning back now, everyone was watching.

At least it was a slow one.

She leaned into him, comfortable when she knew she shouldn't be, and let him lead her in the steps. She heard him speaking softly into her ear.

"We have spoken for nigh an hour, and yet still your name is unknown to me. I have lost my manners. I am Elladan of Imladris, miss, and you?"

Daralis opened her mouth to answer him as the music sped up, and she froze up a bit as her face took on an odd expression. 

"I am sorry, Elladan, but I really don't feel well. Might we sit down?"

"Of course, Miss."

Illness was, at first, Daralis' rouse to receive a sit down, but once she was down, she realized that she wasn't fully lying. She felt a bit dizzy and her head began to pound.

"Elladan," she said a bit woozily, "I believe I need to lie down."

"I shall take you back to the table then, and speak to Legolas for you." She smiled her grateful thanks, and managed to make her way to the table with as much normalcy as she could muster.

But after she and Legolas made their way through the doors, she nearly collapsed, but for her father, who quickly caught her. He brought her to her guest room, sent her into her bathroom with a nightgown, and bade her change. When she came out, he tied it up for her and put her into bed, promising a pain reliever for her head, and left for the Healing Houses.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Elladan sat at Elrohir's bedside, simply watching his brother. With the removal of the new object of his affections, he was no longer interested in any banquet, and so while everyone else still was, he was able to be alone, and face the terror he felt whenever Elrohir was sick or injured. He looked at the bed, at his mirror image, and a quick rush went to his heart. He could see him breathing, he could hear his heart beating, but the same had been for his mother and he had lost her. 

He remembered looking at her this way, remembered the way she looked, the way Elrohir, as himself, resembled her features.

He remembered when she left. 

Tears threatened to fill his eyes, when Legolas entered in what looked like a panic. Elladan rose to see what he needed.

"Mani na taa, Legolas?"

"I need a pain relieving drink. Do you know where there is one?"

"Yes, I believe so Let me go and see if I can find it."

He found, and began to mix it, while Legolas watched. He wanted so badly to ask him 

So he did.

"Legolas, I must speak with you on a somewhat urgent manner."

"Yes, alright, Elladan. Go ahead."

"I wish to know the name of the one you sat with tonight."  
"I assume you do not mean Lord Endarion?" Legolas spoke with a slight smile.

"No, I do not. I refer to the one I also sat next to, the female,"

"Are you sure you do not wish to know about Endarion? Fascinating, he is."

"Legolas!" Elladan exclaimed, aggravated.  
"Alright, alright. If not he, then surely you must speak of my daughter, Daralis of Mirkwood."

The old dismay left Elladan's body as fresh dismay rushed in to fill its place. 

Not attached, no, but the daughter of his old companion! She may as well have been married. Or locked up far from Elladan's reach. Either way, he needed some justification.

"Daughter? How did you come to have a daughter?"

"It is a long story, friend, and the same daughter you ask about is in desperate need of the drink you hold - another long story. When there is time, I shall explain it all to you, but at the moment, I must go and tend to my child."

Elladan nodded numbly and handed over the drink.

Luckily for him, Legolas was worried about Daralis. Perhaps he had missed the emotions displayed so clearly over his companion's face in the bright moonlight of the room.

Elvish translation:

Atar, talant Elrohir e i ohta. - Father, Elrohir was hurt in battle.

Mani na taa, Legolas? - What is it, Legolas?

I just realized something - ELLADAN AND ELROHIR WEREN'T IN ROTK!!!! The movie, of course. Wow. That really makes me sad. I was really looking forward to them.. Neither were the Dunedain, now that I think about it.. only Denethor makes a reference. :( poo.

P.S. I wrote this chapter on December 21st, 2003, as well as the above note. I'm writing this P.S. on March 20, 2004. Just so you know I'm not incredibly slow.


	9. First Kiss

Chapter Nine

Daralis work once more in her guest bed in late afternoon. As the room came into focus- from light, to light and shadows, and then the shapes of the furniture and windows, the balcony and her view of Imladris.

Almost as if on cue, Legolas knocked quickly and entered.

Daralis moaned at the resonating sound.

She lay back on her bed, squinting to look at her father.

"What's wrong with me now?" She croaked.

"You, Miire-nin, have an alcohol-induced headache, magnified by the fact that you did **not** rest when I told you to yesterday."

"Ah, shit." She took a deep breath, and braced herself for the admonition.

"'Shit' is right, Dara. You **cannot** continue this self-destructive behavior."

"Continue? What do you mean, continue? I have **never** behaved this way, and everything I've done was somehow connected to something **you've** told me about my sovereignty, or stupid impressions and proper behavior!" Daralis retorted.

Legolas continued as if he hadn't been interrupted.

"Half-Elven you are, yes, but you hare also half human, and that must not be ignored!" There was a pause, in which Daralis closed her eyes in annoyance and pain.

"Elladan seemed quite worried about you." At these words, Daralis' eyes opened quickly and she looked at Legolas.

"What do you mean? What did he say?"  
"I am quite sure that you would like to know," Legolas replied teasingly from his stance at the balcony, his back to her.

Daralis wasn't in the mood, you might say.

"Oh, Atar, I'm sorry! I seem to have given you the impression that I'm in the mood for your fucking mind games!" Legolas turned to her and advanced quickly.

"You listen to me, Daralis Isolde, and listen well. I have taken it once, but make no mistake that I am deathly serious when I tell you that I shall **not** be spoken to that way by anyone, especially not my own daughter. You will apologize this instant." As much as she hated to admit it about or to anyone, she was intimidated. 

Besides that, she loved her father, and she respected him as well. Apology would be the obvious next words out of her mouth.

Which is why it came as a shock to both of them when she crossed her arms, looked him straight in the eye, and said,

"I'll do no such thing. Tell me what he said, or I'll find out for myself."

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Elladan was leaving the Healing Houses and walking through the halls when he bumped into a billowy white satin cloud. Rather, he was bumped into. Elves generally do not bump.

Nor do they squeak, as this cloud did when she hit the marble floor. Elladan helped to right her, and when the hair was cleared out of the face, he realized that it was Legolas' daughter he was resting his hands on.

On the hips and the small of her back, to be specific.

While she was in her sheer night gown and thin robe, if everything was really and truly detailed.

He froze for a moment, and then jumped back as if she were red-hot. Recognition dawned in her eyes and in her smile. She reached out for his arm.

"Elladan! You have to help me! I'm running from my father." Elladan's eyebrow raised. 

"Oh, go on then, Elladan, help me hide!" Her blue eyes were bright and her dark hair was mussed, her cheeks were flushed from the run she'd had. She was gazing at him with such expectations, and he never wanted to let her down.

Unfortunately for the both of them, that was exactly what he had to do in this case.

"I do not think that that is a very good idea, Princess." She looked at him strangely as he gently pulled himself out of her grasp.

"Since when am I 'Princess'?" She sounded almost.. hurt. Besides the hangover, even.

"Since-" Elladan began, but was interrupted.

"Never mind that now, you've obviously had a run-in with my father, and I'm running out of time since you won't help me hide.

"What did you say about me to my father last night?" Elladan's heart beat a bit quicker.

"I asked only your name, Princess." The title stung her like a curse. 

"Please, Elladan, please call me Dara. I beg of you. Please." That desperate look in her eye was making it harder and harder or him to push her away and be completely impartial.

"Dara!" Legolas was heard from and seen at the end of the expansive hallway. She looked back to Elladan again.

"Are you sure, Elladan, that it was only my name?"

"That I am, Prin-"

"Daralis. But I'll ask you again to please call me Dara." She turned to view Legolas' position to them, saw his purposeful stride as he came nearer.

"I've got to go now. Thank you for the talk, Elladan." She turned and walked past her father without a word. Legolas stopped and looked into Elladan's eyes for a few moments, then quickly turned, and followed his daughter again.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Daralis continued to ignore her father the entire day, mainly because she knew she should have apologized.

She had never really been good at that sort of thing.

She sulked in her room the complete day, thinking about their argument, with both anger and regret, and then the short conversation she and Elladan had had with dismay.

She had truly been hoping to form at the least a real friendship in this place with Elladan, someone other than the three she had- her father, her grandfather, and her handmaiden.

"This is pathetic," she mumbled to herself, climbing out of the hot bath when darkness had fallen after four hours. "If I wanted to have a party, who would I invite?"

Images of a party in which one person appeared filled her mind as she put on one of her nightgowns, a lilac satin one that flowed to her feet, with lace straps and edges . She was pulling back her hair at the vanity when a knock resounded at the door.

"Finally, you come to see how I'm doing," she muttered as she went to the door. 

She hated to admit it, but she had been surprised, and then worried that Legolas hadn't come to see about her all day.

But when she opened the door, it was Elladan, not Legolas, who stood there.

"Elladan!" She smiled, but was a bit wary because of the scene from that morning.

"Dara, I know you must be slightly upset with me," Elladan spoke quickly, nearly reading her thoughts, "But please understand that I could not very well hide the Princess of Mirkwood from her father." Daralis' face took on a sheepish grin.

"Yes, well, that makes sense, I suppose. Come in, won't you?" He smiled down at her. 

"I really should go-" He began in protest, but was cut off quickly.

"Oh, come on, just for a few minutes, so we can talk some more!" Elladan stepped into the room and had turned around, looking at it, before he realized that she was, again, in her nightgown.

"Oh! Oh, my! Well, I uh, um" His hand was over his eyes and he was standing perfectly still.

Daralis, who hadn't ever heard an Elf stutter, turned to him in surprise.

"What's wrong, Elladan?"

"Well, Dara, I mean, Princess- I mean, Dara, yes, that, Dara well, er, it- well, it is just that You are in your nightgown." Daralis looked down at herself and back up at his covered face. He could feel her eyes on him.

"So what?"

"Well, erm, typically, it is not polite occurrence for a male Elf to see a female Elf in such a state unless, of course, they are being intimate-oh! Elbereth, uume amin quetyana"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry! Don't curse me in Elvish or anything I'll go and put on a robe, and give you some time to calm down."

After rummaging in her armoire and finding the robe that went with that particular gown, she reemerged, to find Elladan in the exact same spot he'd been in when she left.

"Elladan, please, make yourself comfortable!" She went and sat on her bed. "Pull up one of those chairs there, yeah, those." Elladan pulled the chair up to the side of the bed so he could sit comfortably. They were across from each other.

"Elladan, when you asked my father about my name why was that?" The question he'd been expecting, and at the same time dreading with all of his heart, had finally come.

"I cannot explain it, Dara. The night we met was one of the most fun times I have ever had and without food, drink, raucous company those who know me well know that that is most irregular." She smiled at him, and he smiled back while reaching to sweep back her unfinished bun from her face. He rested his palm on her cheek and she leaned into it, at the same time leaning forward to kiss him. He met her halfway, whispering her name before their lips touched. The robe was quickly discarded.

The kiss deepened, and he leaned between her legs on the bed, trailing kisses across her jawbone, down to her neck. She was whispering his name to him over and over again in his ear, when all of a sudden, a loud knock sounded at the door. 

"Dara, I wish to speak with you," declared Legolas' voice from the other side of the door.

Daralis sat up so quickly, eyes wide, that she and Elladan bumped heads. "Ouch!"

"Dara? What is the matter?" Legolas sounded worried.

"Nothing, Atar," she shooed Elladan into the bathroom, but there was no place to hide just in case Legolas went in there, so she tried the armoire, but he was cramped, so finally, she pushed him under the bed, but that didn't work either- an Elven foot was clearly visible. Finally Elladan stood and dashed, completely silently, to the balcony doors.

"Dara? What is going on in there?" Legolas' voice was becoming even more worried, if it were possible, at this point. She rushed to open the balcony doors and let out the warmth that had filled the room, all the while rubbing her forehead where it smarted from their collision.

"Nothing, Atar, but don't open the door I'm only in my nightgown!" Elladan exited to the balcony, turned and kissed her once more, and left again, and Daralis pulled the velvet drapes.

"Oh, well yes, of course," Legolas replied.

"I'm just looking for my robe, Atar!"

"Alright, but hurry, Dara." She scooped up the pile of fabric that was her robe from the side of the bed, and as quickly as possible put it on, rushing to the door.

She opened it to see her father in formal dinner attire and looking down at her with a mixed emotion of worry and regret on his face.

"I'm so glad you came to see me, Atar. I was really getting worried about you!"

"Worried?"

"Yes, worried, you hadn't come to see me all day! I wanted to to say that.. to say that I'm soo- I'm sorr- I can't believe this.. I, Daralis Isolde, am very sa- saha- sahahar- I'm sooorrrrry. There. I did it! I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I spoke to you that way, it was wrong of me and I knew it."

"Apology accepted, Miire-nin. I was worried about you, as well. You did not appear for any of the meals, and otherwise, noone else had seen you, either."

"I'm sorry about that too."

"Yes, well, I think that we are both sorry. I should not have teased you so." Daralis gave him a small smile, and he smiled back, before looking around curiously.

"Dara, it is quite warm in here. I shall open the balcony curtains."

"NO!" Legolas jumped slightly, and looked at her as if she had lost her mind.

"What is the problem, Daralis?"

"Nothing, there's no problem at all! I was just- it's just that, um, that I am very comfortable like this, and I don't think you should."

"The doors are already open, Dara."

"Well, yes, but I mean, I like it like this."

"Alright, but I find it unbearable. I'll just open the one what is that?"

"Hmm? What's what?"

"That, that mark on your neck." Her hand flew to the developing love bite left by Elladan, mind racing.

"Oh, well, yeah, I um, I scratched myself today in the bath while I was washing my hair," Legolas looked at her strangely, but seemed to accept this answer, and went to the balcony doors. He pulled open the curtain, and stepped outside.

Dara, cringing in bed and waiting for the yelling, was immensely surprised when she heard Legolas clearly say, "Quel undome, Elladan! Saesa omentien lle! Sut naa lle umien?"

And then heard Elladan clearly reply, "Quel undome Legolas. Quel, diola lle."

And then heard her father say, " Sut naa Elrohir?."

Once more, Elladan spoke. "Elrohir tyava quel."

Finally, Legolas said, " Ai, ta anwa quel. Amin wanya. Tenna' ento lye omenta, Elladan. Quel esta."

And Elladan replied, "Quel esta, Legolas."

Legolas walked back in, describing the "amazing night" to her, and the excused himself and left. She sat there in immense confusion, heart still pounding, and got out of her bed and rushed outside.

There on the balcony of the adjoining room stood Elladan, plain as day. Daralis looked over the space between their balconies that he must have jumped, and back at him in surprise and amusement. He smiled at her and walked to the farthest left end of his balcony, while she went to the farthest right she could go, and they kissed over the gap.

"I was terrified, Elladan." He grinned widely at her. 

"I thought you might be, yes." She swatted at him and turned to go into her chambers, some how comforted that Elladan was right next door.

Elvish Translation

Elbereth, uume amin quetyana - God, I can't believe I said that

Quel undome, Elladan! Saesa omentien lle! Sut naa lle umien?-Good evening, Elladan! Pleasure meeting you! How are you doing?

Quel undome, Legolas. Quel, diola lle. - Good evening, Legolas. I am fine, thank you. 

Sut naa Elrohir? - How is Elrohir?

Elrohir tyava quel. - Elrohir is feeling fine.

Ai, ta anwa quel. Amin wanya. Tenna' ento lye omenta, Elladan. Quel esta. -. Alas, I must go now. Until next we meet, Elladan. Rest well.

Quel esta, Legolas. - Rest well, Legolas.

Hehe you likey? You no likey? Either way.. REVIEW!

Okay. Spring Break is coming up, and instead of staying home and writing for you fine folks like I usually do, I'm going to SPAIN!!! Oh wow. I'm very, very, very excited. And so because I won't be here and I feel bad for not updating in such a long time, I'm giving you all two chapters, which are also mega-long for my usual amount! YAY!

P.S. I am writing more chapters to the story. I like to have a few done in advance so I can review them and edit them and sort of be my own beta. So don't worry about that. 

P.P.S. I wrote the thing about Spain the night before I left- April 1st. I got back last night. If you care to visit the FF.net home page, you will see that ff.net was DOWN on April 1st! And now I'm putting the two chapters up closely together, but not at once.


	10. The Choice

Chapter Ten

"Dara, Lord Elrond wishes to speak with you." Legolas had entered his daughter's chambers with these words, eliciting a snappy response from her.

"Good morning to you, too, sunshine."

"There is no time for jest, Dara, Lord Elrond urgently wishes to speak with you. Put on a nice gown, brush your hair, and hurry. You can eat after you've spoken to him, as you have chosen, once again, I might add, to miss breakfast."

"You are so anal, it's frightening at times." But Legolas couldn't respond, as he had already flung her into the bathroom with a gown he picked out. It was midnight blue, and Daralis reemerged from the washroom with a look of disdain on her face.

"I can't wear this. It's an evening color." Legolas turned, incredulous, to her.

"Daralis Isolde, if the people, languages, and food in Middle Earth are different, is it at all possible that so are the fashion patterns? Now put it on, the color is a favorite of Elrond's. He is waiting, Miire-nin, and you would do well to hurry."

"Fine. No need to snap, though."

Daralis rushed through the halls to arrive at Lord Elrond's study. When she entered, she discovered that it was similar to her grandfather's, only more spacious. 

Elrond sat at his desk and beckoned her to sit across from him, as the caterpillars in her abdomen escaped from their chrysalises and became rabid flesh-eating butterflies. 

"Daralis, I sense that you have some apprehension about this conversation. But I also sense that it is misplaced. I do not call you here to speak about my son," Daralis' eyes widened, "But about your blood line." Her eyes narrowed in suspicion and confusion.

"How do you mean?"

"I mean that you are aware that you are a Peredhil?"

"Of course I am."

"And you do realize that the Elves are immortal?"

"Well, my father is about two-thousand nine-hundred and fifty years old, but doesn't look a day over 23, so yes,"

"And have you never considered the effect that his blood may have on your life?"

"Not really, I mean how-" She ended her sentence short, with her mouth in an O. "You- you don't mean that I have to live forever?"

"Not necessarily," declared Elrond, frowning at the desperate tone to her voice. "It is possible that you, like my own children, shall be given the choice. I have forseen this."

"The choice of what?"

"To allow the human blood you carry to overwhelm the Elvish and become fully mortal, or to allow the Elvish blood which flows in your veins to finalize your status as an Elf."  
"What if I don't have the choice?"

"As it seems that you have certain human weaknesses, you will most likely perish at an end of your life."

Daralis' eyes filled with tears at this news. So many emotions conflicted her at once, and this final obligation wasn't about to help anytime soon.

"Um, th-thank you, Lord Elrond, for discussing this matter wi-with me. I-well, it means so much to me that you would concern yourself enough to help." She was beginning to sob, hiccuping, and sniffing at the same time, which was no combination for speaking to an Elven lord. "Please, excuse me won't you?"

"Yes, of course, Dara. I hope to see you later tonight at the meal. You shall be able to meet my other son, Elladan's twin brother Elrohir." He spoke hopefully, as if wishing to lift her spirits, but they were so drenched already that nothing but an acceptably polite answer could be managed.

"I look forward to it, Lord Elrond." With those words, she turned and dashed from the room

.. and straight into her father. Looking horrified, he pulled her into his arms, trying to discern what the problem was.

"Dara, mani naa taa? Hmm? Mani marte?" Legolas knew that Elvish was much more calming than anything else he could say.

"Atar, he said that I may have the choice"

"The choice the choice! Dara, what is the matter, then?"

"It's just that.. I- I don't know." 

"You don't know what?" Daralis looked up at Legolas and with dismay, realized that what she had feared had come true- he looked both betrayed and injured.

"Well, it's just that.. I don't know which choice to make!"

"How can you not? Have I done something to make you unhappy at the thought of an immortal life?" His voice was getting angrier.

"No, Atar, of course you haven't, but it's just that I.. I was almost hoping" Her eyes filled with tears.

"Hoping for what?" She looked at him again. His eyes were dark with worry, and something else.

"Nothing. I have to go." She wrenched herself out of his arms and ran to her bedroom.

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Elrohir, sitting on his brother's balcony, heard the sounds of weeping. 

Because it was coming from the room next to the one he was in, he stood and went to the door, knocking softly. When the crying continued, he knocked harder. 

From inside, he heard, "Please, just, go away." At the sound of the female voice, his eyebrows raised, and he spoke.

"Lady, if you would pardon me," He began, "I would feel much better if I knew that you were alright. Are you in a decent state?"

"No." was the reply. "I'm in my nightgown." 

Seeing as how it was nearly three in the afternoon, Elrohir entered the room.

Daralis rose her head from the bed to look at the intruder. It sounded like Elladan and looked like Elladan, but somehow she knew that it wasn't. Therefore it must have been his twin, Elrohir.

"Elrohir, please, leave me."

"Ah! You know my name! Have I rescued you in some daring risk of my life before?"

Daralis snorted. "Hardly."

"Then how, Daralis?"

"I know who you are," Daralis began, standing up and walking to stand in front of him, "because you are the spitting image of your brother Elladan, who I have had the pleasure of meeting. I know that you are not he because I know him fairly well, and I know that the name of Elladan's twin is Elrohir, because your father told me that this morning when he was informing me of that fucking choice. How do you know my name?"

"Ah, the choice. I struggled with it too," said Elrohir, completely ignoring the last question.

"What?"

"You are speaking of the choice of whether to be mortal of Elf kind are you not?"

"Yes, but you struggled with it?"

"Yes. It was quite difficult for me."

"Why?"

"Because I was not sure of which way I wanted to go. If I were human, there was so much I could feel, and learn, and do, but if I were Elven and eventually sailed to Valinor" he paused.

"What?" Daralis asked breathlessly.

"If I went to Valinor, I could see my mother again."

"What? Why is your mother there?"  
"She was destroyed by orcs."

"What? They killed her?" Daralis was horrified. If she was to protect the Elves of Mirkwood from the kind of beast that- Elrohir's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Not killed. Destroyed. Please excuse me, Daralis, I believe I shall take my leave, as it were."

"Oh! No! No, Elrohir, I am sorry, I didn't mean to- please, don't go. I'd like to talk about it, if you don't mind too much."

Elrohir looked thoughtful, and turned back to her.

"Of course, I do not mind."

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Elladan walked to the door of Daralis' chambers, but stopped short when he heard her voice, obviously speaking to someone.

"The thing is, I'm almost the opposite of you. If I become a full Elf, then I have so much to do, and learn, and feel, and then there's my father, of course. But, since the day I lost her, I've kind of always thought in the back of my head that when I die, I can be with my mother again. And if I become an Elf, I can't do that."

"Elves can die, Daralis." Elladan was surprised to hear Elrohir's voice.

"What? No one's told me that yet."  
"Yes. We can die, in battle or of grief. But," he added quickly at the look on her face, "It must be a grief so absolute in its existence. Sadness over the loss of a pet, or a torn dress, cannot move an Elf to the grief I speak of. You may have noticed, Daralis, that the Elves are not a very emotional race." Daralis snorted again, but Elrohir continued.

"For an Elf to die of grief, it has to be the farthest one can go before insanity breaks them.

"Your father nearly died of heartbreak."

Daralis' eyes flew directly to Elrohir's, searching for some sort of jest, but they were like stone.

"Wh-what? When?"  
"Shortly after he returned from his unexplained disappearance. It was as if he had been taken, abused, and traumatized so that he never wished to speak again. Quite tragic, actually."

Tears were filling Daralis' blue orbs. Elrohir looked alarmed.

"Please, Daralis, I did not mean to disturb you so. I-" At this, Elladan opened the door. Both of them turned their heads to him. Daralis was sitting on her bed and Elrohir was in a chair beside it. Daralis had her hands over her cheeks and nose, and tears were quickly collecting in her palms. 

Elladan rushed to collect her in his embrace, and Elrohir looked at his brother, horrified. He heard Elladan's voice in his mind.

'Elrohir, do not trouble yourself with guilt. She is very upset, but this is not your fault. Thank you for speaking to her.'

'Is there anything I can do for her?'

'At this point in time, no. But I shall remember the offer.' 

Elrohir left silently, his brother embracing Mirkwood's princess in his arms.

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	11. Legolas' Confrontation

Chapter Eleven

Elladan sat in the chair in Daralis' room, listening to her speak to him from the washroom where she was taking a hot bubble bath he had drawn for her.

"My father was terribly upset with me, Elladan. I didn't know what to do! He just looked so.. angry, and disappointed. I understand where he's coming from, but in my world, death brings an afterlife, not only an end, and I guess I'm not supposed to expect him to understand that, but still, I mean I don't know" Daralis kept speaking, but Elladan heard light, almost undiscernible footsteps approaching.

In a flash, he was on the balcony and in his room. Seconds later, Legolas walked into the room, calling for Daralis.

"Atar!" She screamed, "I'm in the bath!"

Legolas promptly put a hand over his eyes, and spoke. "I apologize, Daralis, but I feel that I must speak to you. I want you to know that I feel horribly for the way I spoke to you earlier, and that I love you very much."

"Of course I know that, Atar. I do think that we should speak about it later, though."

"That is very well. We shall. Who were you speaking to just now?" He asked abruptly. Daralis' blood ran cold.

"What? What are you talking about?" She stammered out a bit too quickly.

"You were talking to someone, I heard you as I approached your door." Daralis was out of the tub by this time, a luxurious robe over her form.

"I was talking to myself," she lied.

"Are you sure?" He looked at her with a scrutinizing eye.

"Yes, I'm sure."

"I shall accept that for now, Dara. Now get dressed and ready for dinner. My old companion Aragorn is coming tonight, as well as Elrohir. I am sure that you and he would wish to meet, as you seem to be so very interested in his twin." With that Legolas turned and left, leaving his daughter flushed with embarrassment and a bit afraid of his meaning.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Dinner with Aragorn and Elrohir was an amusing event to say the least. The twins constantly teased Glorfindel, a very important, yet still fun, Elf that Daralis had learned was a dear friend of Elrond.

"I must ask you, Glorfindel," began Elrohir while they were waiting for their meals, "Now that I am up and well again, are you ready for me to defeat you at swords?"

"Please, child, I taught you any skill you may have at swords. Do not make a fool of yourself." Glorfindel teased.

"I shan't make a fool of myself, because I am confident that I can beat an Elf of your age."  
"Age?"

"Yes, age indeed! You are millennia old. It is a bit sad, to be honest."

"If but I had food, Elrohir, I would throw it at you."

"Good point, Old One! The food is quite tardy tonight. It is my opinion that you should go to the kitchens and see what is happening." Glorfindel eyed him wearily, but rose.

After he left, Elladan whispered across the table to her. "Quickly, Dara! Take Elrohir's seat, and I shall take yours, and he can take mine. Father, do rotate with Legolas and Estel." Legolas and Elrond maturely stayed put, and Aragorn had no choice, but Daralis quickly jumped up to take Elrohir's chair. Now instead of being across from Elladan, she was next to him, and across from Elrohir. 

Elrohir whistled softly, and the kitchen staff that he was apparently in cahoots with came whisking out of a different entrance, placing the dishes in front of them. They waited a few minutes before being rejoined by Glorfindel.

"Glorfindel, you old dog! You seem to have missed the arrival of dinner! It has been here for some time."

Glorfindel served him with a glare.

"Yes, that must be it, brat."

"A brat!" Elrohir exclaimed. He leaned across the table to Daralis and said, "Can you believe it, Princess! He uses such language in such esteemed company. What a disgrace he is to our realm. He should be booted out on his seat, do you agree?"

Daralis dissolved into a fit of giggles. "Yes, I believe I do agree, Elrohir." Elladan, Elrohir, Aragorn, Glorfindel, Elrond and Legolas all let out laughter at her response.

"Well, Princess Daralis, I shall leave," Glorfindel began, "If you would do me the honor of asking me to do so in Elvish." Daralis gasped.

"Glorfindel! You know that I can't."

"Then I am compelled to remain at my seat." She smiled at him.

"If you must."

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Later that night, Elladan walked Daralis back to her room. When they arrived, she invited him in. He entered, closing the door behind him. When he turned back around, she was standing directly in front of him, a sparkle in her eyes. Elladan placed his hand on one of her cheeks, and put the other on her hip, turning her around so that she was against the door.

"I have wanted to kiss you all night, Dara." He received a smile in response.

"Then go ahead, Elladan." She said it as if issuing a challenge, one he met with earnest. 

Their lips connected with a spark, which grew into a flame as the kiss deepened. Daralis arched out from the door, and Elladan pressed his body against hers in response, never breaking the kiss. Daralis grabbed Elladan's arms, now wrapped around her torso, and ran her hands over them, exposing the fevered flesh there. Elladan pulled away first.

"Daralis Dara, we cannot do this."

"Do what?" Daralis panted.

"Go any farther." Elladan clarified. Daralis gave a slight pout.

"Why not?"

"You are an innocent, are you not?"

"A what?" She was confused.

"An innocent. You have never known another male," Elladan explained to her.

"Oh you mean a virgin. Well, yes, I am."

"That is why we cannot do this. Not now, at least."

"What? How the hell are the two connected?" She was getting frustrated, for several reasons.

Elladan smiled at her, and leaned in to whisper in her ear-" You will know when the time has finally come." It sent shivers down her spine, and she released a small moan.

"Are you trying to drive me mad?"

"A bit mad, yes." He kissed her brow. "And now I must leave you. Tomorrow, will you ride with me?"

"Ride? As in, a horse?" Daralis' face took on a doubtful shadow.

"Nay, a Warg beast." Elladan quipped sarcastically.

"A what?" His eyes rolled.

"Yes, Daralis, a horse!"

"Um, we'll have to see about that."

"Fine. But either way, we will do something tomorrow?" She smiled up at his enthusiasm.

"Of course." A quick kiss to her lips, and he turned her away from the door, and made for the handle. But before he touched it, he froze.

"Someone approaches." She looked to the door and to him, and watched him dash past her and through her balcony doors. She went back to the door as a knock sounded. She opened it, and discovered Legolas on the other side.

"Hello, Atar. Have you come to wish me goodnight?"

"No, I have come to inquire as to where Elladan has gone."

DUN DUN DUUUUNNNNNNNNN!! Bwahahahahahahahaaaaaaa! 

If you all send me your inspiring and urgent reviews, I may relieve the stress on your fingers caused by the CLIFFHANGER! BWAHHAHAHAHAHA! :)


	12. Daralis' Confrontation

Chapter Twelve

"Atar, why would I know where Elladan has gone?" Legolas took a step into the room.

"Why don't you tell me? The two of you seem to be quite close lately." Daralis took a step back.

"What are you talking about?" She responded, getting more nervous.

"Do not lie to me, Dara." Another step forward.

"I'm not lying to you, Atar." Another step back.

"Then perhaps you can explain to me why it is that Elladan himself called you 'Dara' tonight at dinner?"

Daralis' breath froze in her lungs. She stepped three steps back quickly. Legolas looked at her with an unyielding, critical eye, and she turned her back to him, her face flushing.

"I- I don't know why he would do that, Atar."

"And why is it, Daralis, that the day you were in the bath the curtains rustled even though the door was closed?"

"I have no clue what you're talking about." And technically, she wasn't lying. She had no idea that had happened.

"Fine. Those things, perhaps, are not things that you could control. But explain to me please, sweet daughter, why you told me that an obvious love bite was a small cut. Why I saw the two of you walk off together with my own two eyes. Not only that, but I have not seen him since. Your hair is tousled and your dress is loose, and I would wager that if I were to walk out onto the balcony, he would be gazing at the stars. Let us see, shall we?" Daralis was speechless as he walked soundlessly to the heavy curtains and yanked them open. With a loud sarcastic voice, he spoke.

"Why Elladan! Funny finding _you_ **here**!"

"Atar" Daralis began, going to the balcony.

"Oh, Dara. Certainly you have not been lying to me?"

"Atar, don't"

"And you, Elladan!" Legolas began, rounding on his companion. "My daughter! You could not have asked my permission, or, let me think, let her alone?! It is despicable," he said, leaning over the space so that he was nearly touching Elladan's face, "that you should even attempt such trickery and deception."

"Atar, please stop!"

"Daralis, you will shut your mouth and retreat back into your room."

"Atar!"

"Do, it Dara. Right now." He was furious, beyond the fury which loud outbursts and yelling accompanied and relieved. He was seething, stewing in his own betrayed sentiment and injured feelings. Daralis wanted to wince just looking at him. He looked as if he would explode any minute, and Elladan, now looking indignant and angry, showed no signs of backing down. 

"Atar, I won't. You need to calm down and come inside. I don't know what you're implying, but I can assure you that anything I do with anyone else is none of your concern." She regretted the words immediately when he slowly turned his head to her. He was livid, his eyes were darkened and his alabaster skin seemed to glow slightly.

"How dare you speak to me that way? Get inside, now."

"I shall only go if you will follow me." She knew he would never hurt her, but was relatively sure that he would kill Elladan if he saw his face again.

"You are in no position to bargain."

"But you are in a perfect position to lose me completely if you don't give me control over my life," she responded in a flash, volume rising. He turned just as quickly to her, his eyes flashing.

"Is that a threat, Dara?"

"No, Atar, it isn't. It's a fair warning. You can't _be_ this way."

"What way, Daralis?"

"This way! You can't control my life! What is the issue here? There is no issue! If Elladan and I happen to be friends or _anything_ more, it's none of your concern at all!"

"Sweet Elbereth! It is not any of my concern? I am your father!"

"I realize that. Is there anything else you have to say? What does that mean? Do you want to chaperone me? Is that what you're proposing?"

"I do not want to chaperone you, I want to be able to feel that there is no need for a chaperone."

"There _isn't _, Atar! I am rapidly becoming an adult here. I was already an adult in my world! You can't control me this way!"

"Dara, I just want to know that you are safe and taken care of."

"I would take care of her, Legolas." Daralis and Legolas both looked to the balcony doors, where Elladan stood bathed in moonlight. He began walking towards them. "You know that. What reason have I ever given to you that would make you think that Dara would be unhappy with me?" Legolas looked at him in what appeared to be disbelief and indignancy.

"None, Elladan, that I can think of," Legolas replied honestly.

"Which leads me to believe that the problem here goes beyond Dara and I. This problem addresses your insecurities about the women in your life." Legolas said nothing, and so he continued. "Your mother passed, the love of your life passed quite recently, and now the only product of that love has suggested that she too would like to die."

"Elladan, that will be enough," Legolas attempted.

"Legolas, I am not finished. After all of these events, you become overprotective of your daughter to alleviate your own insecurities. But it is not fair to her, Legolas, and it is not fair to you either. If you stifle her life as well as your own, you shall both have the fate of her moth-"

"ELLADAN!" Legolas, shocked into silence, and Elladan both turned to look at Daralis, who had tears running down her face. "Both of you! You know what? Please, just leave me. I can't handle this tonight."

They both moved to kiss her cheeks, glared at each other, and stalked out of the door.

I know, I'm sorry! It was way too short. But at least now he knows, right? Right. Okay, more to come!

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	13. Mediation and A Quick Glimpse

Chapter Thirteen

Breakfast the next morning was a silent affair. Daralis' attention went solely to her dish, and Legolas and Elladan rotated from their food, to her, and to each other, before shooting daggers to each other and glaring back at their food. Elrohir knew that it would be completely inappropriate to make any type of jest, and Elrond hadn't arrived yet. Legolas spoke first.

"Dara ?" She raised her eyebrows in response. "I was wondering if you might enjoy practicing some archery with me this afternoon."

Before she could respond, Elladan's voice was heard.

"She is already otherwise committed for today. Tomorrow too, actually. Now that I think about it, Legolas, you might try some time next month."

"My daughter has her own free will, something I would trouble you to remember, Elladan."

Elrohir looked between the two as if he were watching a tennis match. Daralis' eyes focused on individual grains of her porridge.

"I realize that, Legolas, it is just that I highly doubt that she would wish to spend time with you when it could be spent in my company." Legolas shot up from the table, slamming his palms on the wood.

"How dare you, you insolent little-"

"Such diplomacy you display, Legolas!"

"Do not attempt, Elladan, to use my formal training in manner to put a barrier on the anger I feel towards you right now. I have never been in a situation in which the future sovereign of such an esteemed realm has taken complete advantage of his guests' naivete and inexperience!" Elladan placed his hands on the table and leaned in.

"I took no advantage-" Legolas leaned in as well, they were now face to face. 

"Like fuck you didn't, you-"

"ATAR! ELLADAN! THAT IS **ENOUGH**! I wasn't taken advantage of, Atar." Elladan's face took on a smug grin, until she rounded on him. "I love my father very much and I am happy to spend time with him over anyone else in this place. I'm not, however, shooting at anything today. I am also," she said," not going on a picnic, or a horseback ride, or a walk. I am going to stay in my room. When the two of you have decided to put your **centuries** of life to use, talk to each other and behave in a mature and adult manner about an issue that is obviously very delicate, LET ME KNOW! Until then, I will thank you BOTH to leave me the hell alone." She turned to leave, and paused.

"And you," she began, pointing at her father. " Don't you ever say 'fuck' again."

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Elladan and Legolas sat across from each other, staring eye to eye without blinking.

"This must end, Elladan. We cannot do this to her."

"I am doing nothing, You are trying to control her."

"Blame can do nothing, Elladan. Especially incorrect blame. My daughter is new to this world, she does not know about her surroundings, and she does not know the possible repercussions for Elven love. If you feel the way you say you do about my daughter, you would know that."

"How was I to know that?"

"She should have told you if you planned on having a relationship. My daughter is from the future, as was her mother. She came to our time after her mother passed. And after losing her mother, I will not lose her to anyone I deem unworthy."

"Is that to say that you deem me unworthy, Legolas?"

"No, Elladan, it is not. It is to attempt to explain to you my feelings. She is my only child, and without her mother, I shall father no other. How can I allow Daralis to go traipsing around Middle Earth? It is an unsafe place, much more dangerous than her world, but she has never seen any of the elements that make it so. She does not understand."

"I can help her to understand. I want to help her to understand."

"I appreciate that sentiment, Elladan, but that is my responsibility."

"Will you not share it?" Elladan's voice sounded desperate.

"No. I will not."

"What is this truly about, Legolas?" Legolas looked at him fiercely. 

"This is about the safety of my daughter. I can see in her eyes that she is hesitant. And she is also undecided on her immortality, if such a choice should be allotted to her." He fixed his vacant gaze back on Elladan quickly.

"What would you do if she became human, Elladan?"

"I would stay behind with her. I would not sail."

"If you were to do that, it would break her heart to know that she was the cause for your passing. You must take some time before you make these decisions, Elladan. If not for me, and our companionship, then for her sake. She cannot take the stress this huge change is bringing for her, and our feud can bring nothing but negativity to her life. I propose that you both slow down with whatever you are feeling. I also ask that you and I put our conflict aside and look for her best interest." He placed his hand on the table. Elladan reached over and grabbed it, and they shook firmly.

"I agree."

Daralis sat in the bath, steam rising around her and taking her cares with it. She could feel herself slipping into sleep as the mist seemed to fill her mind as well as the room. She began to hear a familiar female voice. At first she couldn't place it, but then she recognized it immediately. 

Unfortunately, she shot awake in shock.

"Mom."

Guys- I'm REALLY sorry about the short ass chapters! I mean, I try to pack them with interesting stuff, and that last was a bit of a cliff hanger, but I don't know. I'm just being short lately, I guess. Don't worry- lotsa stuff to come!


	14. Dreams

Chapter Fourteen

Daralis' fading dreams in which she heard her mother's voice continued, getting more and more potent until she could hear distinct words, and see the outline of Rhiannon's form. 

"I'm so love you, Dar important out" Her mother was getting closer to her, trying to come and tell her something important. Daralis' only goal was to hear the entire message.

She hadn't told Legolas, Elladan, or even Elrond about these dreams, fearing that exposing her secret may have halted the dreams indefinitely. Instead, she continued to dream, going to bed earlier and earlier each night. Everyone surely must have been getting suspicious and worried about her, but everyone had left her mind. There was no one else but she and Rhiannon.

The night she heard the message, she was prepared. When she had awoken that morning, she had a peculiar feeling in her gut- something exciting was coming. 

She strolled in the gardens and along the trees in a nearby glen. The flowers seemed to reach out to touch her, and the trees to shade her from the sun's rays. She felt utterly mythical, and relished in it that day, having the most calm, peaceful day since she had arrived in Middle Earth.

At lunch, she ate heartily and drank a little wine, and then continued her self- tour through the lands of Imladris. She knew that Elladan would have eagerly given her a tour, but she wanted to be alone for now. So she continued on her way through the fields and meadows until she found a small, secluded pond. She sat at the edge, trying to see if the water was clean so that she could splash her face, when something struck her odd about her reflection. She couldn't put her finger on it, but she knew that something was off. Then she realized- her eyes were brown. She gasped, stared, blinked a few times, but they were still brown. Then she heard echoes of her dream in her head, she blinked and looked again, and the sapphire orbs were there again. Utterly confused and no longer relaxed, Daralis decided to head back.

She got back just around sunset, to see people teeming over the grounds. She would later find out that they were looking for her.

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"Atar, I am sorry that I didn't leave a note or something, but it was a spur of the moment type thing!" Legolas was 'tucking her in', his excuse for scolding her.

"Daralis, you know better than to leave in such a manner when we have so recently had Orc attacks!"

"No, I don't! Look, you just have to leave now. I need to relax so I can dream."

"Why do you wish to dream so badly?"

"I enjoy it. Please, Atar. Leave."

"Alright, I shall go, but keep in mind what I say, Daralis. You cannot behave this way."

"Yes, Atar." Legolas closed the door; Daralis blew out her light quickly and lay back on the bed, concentrating. Before long, she heard the echoes, but they were rapidly becoming louder and sharper. She was surprised at how fast everything was going- it was like her subconscious was in frazzled and in overdrive.

She saw her mother's face directly in front of her, and she heard her message, clear as day.

"I'm so proud of you, Dara. You're so strong, and I want you to know that I love you very much. But listen to me carefully. This is very important. You need to be careful, and watch out. There is someone after you, Dara, and they want to hurt you to benefit themselves. Promise me you'll be careful." She was holding Daralis' face in her hands, eye to eye with her daughter. Daralis looked into the familiar eyes that were on her face that afternoon.

"I promise, Mom."

"Are you happy, Dara?"

"I am, but I miss you so much. If only you were here, then I wouldn't need anything else."

"You don't need me Daralis. You have everything you need. I'm sorry I had to go so soon, but I couldn't take it any more. I took it for 20 years, and I finally just gave in."

"Take what, Mom?"

"The separation." She replied simply. "I'm so sorry that I couldn't be stronger for you, Daralis. I truly am. But I'm trying to atone now. Be careful. Watch out." Rhiannon began to fade, and Daralis tried to say everything she needed to.

"Mom, I love you! You were perfect! Don't be sorry!" But it was too late, because Rhiannon had completely faded. And before Daralis could focus in on the stench filling her nostrils, her face was smothered by a pillow.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

In Imladris the next morning, Legolas knocked on Daralis' door for the fourth time that morning. She had missed breakfast, and it was almost noon. There was yet to be an answer from his daughter's chambers, and he was quickly becoming worried.

__

'Perhaps she is with Elladan,' Legolas thought, and went off in search of the pair.

Elladan, meanwhile, was searching for Daralis in the gardens. He had knocked on her door already, and her balcony was closed and the curtains drawn. After searching the kitchens, the archery fields, and the library, he decided to try the gardens in search of Legolas and Daralis- perhaps they had gone for a walk.

Legolas and Elladan met in front of a rosebush.

"Have you seen Daralis?" They asked each other simultaneously. 

"I thought she would be with you!" They responded.

"Well, then where is she?" They asked each other again. 

"I am not sure where she has gone, Legolas but I have found something strange at the edge of our forest." Elladan held up an arrow with a rag of pink satin on the end.

"This is an Orc arrow," Legolas said.

"And this is from Daralis' nightgown," replied Elladan, before looking at a particularly interesting bird.

A pause, two raised eyebrows, and the two shot back to the palace in a blur of Elf.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Legolas pulled the covers off of the bed Daralis had been sleeping in. They were twisted and bunched, signs of a struggle. 

One Daralis had obviously lost, for his daughter had disappeared and no amount of searching could turn her up.

And the lingering smell in the room told him that the Orcs had his child.

He was furious. 

He stormed into his chambers, packing arrows into his quiver and stashing the White Knives in their slots. He grabbed his canteen, two blankets, and went to the stables. He packed them all on his horse, but then in a thought of conscience went to Elrond's study to inform him that he was leaving.

Imladris was in a state of panic- the previous search for Princess Daralis had resulted in success in about two hours. Now, she was nowhere to be found. Every meadow and wood was searched, but not even a trace of her remained. The sky was dark.

Elrond's study held Elladan, Elrohir, Glorfindel, and Elrond, along with various other officials of Imladris. Legolas spoke.

"Lord Elrond, I have come to inform you that I am leaving to find Daralis."

"Legolas, you cannot go now!" Elrond exclaimed. "We are commissioning a search party of warriors, and they can accompany you."

"I will not wait. I cannot wait. And if it has come to pass that Orcs have harmed her, I shall track them down and kill every one. There is no time to wait for a squad to form. I am leaving now, and anyone who wishes to accompany me can." 

"I am coming," declared Elladan directly, who then immediately left to prepare himself.

A brief silence filled the room, before-

"I as well," said Elrohir, leaving to follow his brother.

"I shall go with pleasure, Legolas," said Glorfindel, already decked out in full military garb.

"And I," added Aragorn.

Ten others in the room volunteered their services to aid the rescue of the beloved Princess Daralis.

Fifteen minutes later, at the urgency of both Legolas and Elladan, the fifteen riders were on the road after the Orc trail.

Uh-Oh! Maybe if I get some reviews, Dara can come home soon!

Seriously, you guys, I love looking in my mailbox and seeing 

bot@fanfiction.net[FanFiction.net] Review Alert!

It makes me ecstatic. Just thought you should know how thrilled you can make me by taking a minute of your time to give me feedback.

The number for the Happy Author telethon hotline is 1-234-Review-Now. Thank you for your donation.

:)


	15. Silmeamin

Chapter Fifteen

Daralis couldn't see much. It was about seven hours since she had been taken from her bed. She felt as if she had just woken up- groggy and disoriented. She heard loud, gruff voices arguing somewhere near her, and knew from the overpowering stench and the hard, rocky ground that she was nowhere near Imladris.

The voices got louder. Daralis couldn't understand them, but she could feel the hate growing in the tones. Suddenly, one of the voices came nearer to her. Her arm was roughly grabbed, and its owner picked her up. Her vision began to slowly sharpen, and it became obvious that she was being carried through a cave. Everything went black again, however, as she was dropped onto a stone platform.

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Legolas and Elladan rode side by side in the front of the group of horses. All of the Elves were completely silent, both out of respect to Legolas and because they themselves were listening with sharp ears to find the lost princess. Aragorn would make occasional comments about the tracks that they were following, but beyond those, all any of them did was look and listen for any hint of Daralis. 

Both Legolas and Elladan were inwardly seething- furious at the Orcs who had taken their princess, and at themselves for not discovering her missing sooner.

__

'She always responds to me when I call her, even through her door. I should have broken it open,' Legolas thought.

__

'Her balcony has never been latched, ever. I should have known, I should have done something when I thought it was strange.' Elladan scolded.

Elrohir, who could feel his brother's emotion, began to be worried for Elladan's sake if Daralis wasn't found.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Daralis woke up when she felt her hair pulled up. Something sawed off a piece, and she heard low talking in a vicious language. She then heard something speaking in Elvish.

"Hello, Princess. You are probably wondering why you are here, are you not?" Daralis was too petrified to respond.

"Well, I shall tell you why. You are here because you are the key to our control of Mirkwood. We had it once, and we want it back. Your family would give anything to have you back alive, and we intend to take advantage of that. And remember," the voice began, and Daralis could feel it lean in close, "all we need to do, is have you living for the deal to be arranged." Hot, humid breath was being blown on her ear, and its smell was giving her a headache.

She replied with slang. 

"Dude. The breath is gnaaarrr."

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~ 

"I think that it would be most likely that the Orcs are in a series of caves a two day ride ahead of us," Aragorn said. "I also think that we should rest for tonight and continue early tomorrow."

"I disagree, Aragorn," spoke Legolas. If we continue through tonight, then we will find her sooner. We do not know the conditions she is being kept in, but they are not good. I need no rest, and indeed, were I asked to, I could not rest."

"I could not either," agreed Elladan.

"I have no need for rest either, Legolas, but you must remember that our horses do." Aragorn stated. "There is a shady glen with a pond ahead, I think that would be an ideal place, and tomorrow, the horses will be fit for a long ride."

Legolas couldn't deny the fact that the horses needed rest, and so he fell silent, yet furious.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Later that night, Legolas laid on his roll. He had his eyes closed, and images of Rhiannon flowed through his mind. He remembered her dazed face when he had first arrived, he remembered her smile from the day at the beach, he remembered her darkened, passionate eyes when she was below him the night he first took her. He saw the same eyes, but this time it was no longer a memory.

"Your friends are going to be worried about you, Legolas. You've fallen asleep with your eyes closed."

"Silmeamin?" His mind was spinning, overjoyed, and wary.

"I miss that name," Rhiannon replied, smiling up at him. They were in her bedroom.

"What is this? How are you with me?"

"You're dreaming, duh." She laughed, and Legolas smiled down at her.

"I shall never wake again." He cupped her cheek with his hand.

"You have to wake up. You have to go and find our daughter isn't she beautiful, Legolas?"

"She is, yes."

"You should have seen her growing up. You didn't tell me in the letter what a pain in the ass she could be."

"I think, Silmeamin, that that was her human side shining through." Rhiannon laughed again. 

"You would say that." They looked into each other's eyes for a moment. "Legolas, why are you so wary of Dara and Elladan? He seems to be a good pers-Elf."  
"I do not want to let her go, Rhiannon. I cannot explain it. I feel like I need to protect her, even though I know that Elladan can do so. I am not ready."

"You need to get ready, Legolas. There are lots of changes to come."

"What does that mean?"

"I can't say." Rhiannon stood on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around Legolas' neck, pressing their lips together. Legolas wrapped one arm around her waist and threaded his fingers through her hair, and Rhiannon rubbed a fingertip over the point of his ear, making his knees quiver and him moan into her mouth. The kiss grew more passionate, building up, until finally Rhiannon broke it and said,

"I miss that more than the name Legolas, I have to go now."

"You cannot," he replied vehemently. "I will not let you go this time." Rhiannon looked sad.

"You don't have a choice, darling. I may be back, though." She gave him a quick kiss. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Legolas replied, feeling as if he were about to break apart. 

With a pop, Rhiannon was gone and he was awake.

He felt strangely cold.

A/N: I couldn't have them apart any longer. He missed her too much, and he begged me last night in bed for a quick reunion, so there you are. :). Hope you all liked it.

* "Gnar" is the most awesome word ever. It is short for gnarly, and can be used in the same contexts, but sounds cooler. Spread the WORD!

Hobbit Ivy- everyone should thank you for this update. Shameless flattery is the most effective thing with me. :)


	16. Ontare

Chapter Sixteen

While Legolas was sleeping, Elladan sat wide-awake staring at the stars. He was puzzling himself with the way he was reacting to Daralis' disappearance. He felt dry- as if he was constantly in need of satiation, but couldn't find it. 

He also felt furious. He knew what orcs could do, and he knew what Daralis was wearing. He recognized the silk he had found from the gown she was wearing the night they had had their first kiss. It drove him mad to know that she as somewhere all alone, afraid, and without protection. He yearned to be there for her, to be her protection. 

Elladan's thoughts strayed to the argument that he and Legolas had had nights before.

__

'I would take care of her, Legolas.' A lot of good he had done there. 

By Elbereth! He was consumed by rage, both at the fiends who had taken his princess, and at himself.

He paused suddenly, reviewing his thoughts to himself. He was slightly startled to hear again in his mind the words that claimed Daralis as his. He slowly began to realize why he was so bothered by the situation. He had fallen in love with Daralis, and had yet to tell her. 

And if she came back ruined like his mother had, she would never truly hear the words once he said them. 

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Daralis was by herself, with her hands bound behind her back. It was cold, dark and she was terrified. She hadn't eaten anything her captors had given her, mostly because of its smell, and the little water they had given her left her with an upset stomach. 

She kept replaying in her mind the dream that had come to her the night she was taken. The fact that her mother had been right gave her a reassuring feeling- Rhiannon was watching over her now, and probably had been for some time.

Physically, she hurt. Her wrists were chafed from the rough rope binding them, and her shoulders hurt from their prolonged position. Her arms were bruised from where she had been snatched, as were the inside of her thighs from the fierce gallop away from Imladris. 

She heard a female voice coming closer, and perked up. Perhaps she was finally being rescued.

They entered her cave chamber, and spoke in Elvish.

"Ah, Princess Daralis." Daralis immediately knew that she was not being saved; the malice in the voice was too potent.

"At last we meet."

"Who are you?"

"Who are you, is the more important question. And the fact is that you are a key element to my plan. My name is Ontare."

"Why do you want me?"

"Because you are your father's daughter, of course."

"But what do you need me for?"

"I am not unintelligent, Princess. You wish for me to reveal my plan? I tell not even the Orcs who obey my commands."

"Why do they obey you if you're an Elf?"

"Because Orcs are asinine. They despise cruel beauty, unresponsive beauty, yes, but if beauty approaches them with what they think is desire and kindness, they are forever slaves. Can you not see?"

"I'm not from here. I don't understand."

"Orcs were once Elves, stupid girl! They were tortured out of their beauty. They hate those who retain what they have lost. And I do not blame them."

"But you take advantage." She received a harsh slap to the face that snapped her head to the side.

"Do not question me, brat. You know nothing of the world you live in, and there fore should not pass judgement. We are sending a messenger shortly with the ransom note."

"The sentinels in Mirkwood and Imladris will be heightened. Any messenger of yours would be killed."

"You are not clever enough to challenge my plans. You have no idea who I hold under my grasp. The messenger we have is not Orcish. She is an Elf."

"From where?" Daralis asked, incredulous.

"Mirkwood. I believe you know her."

"Who is it?"

"A certain Lady Imsiriel."

"WHAT?!" Daralis stood, with some difficulty. "How dare you rip her from her land?! My grandfather will think she has something to do with this, and he'll have her executed!"

She was slapped again. 

"Don't ever raise your voice to me, brat. But you are right. Thranduil likely will think that she has something to do with this. And he certainly will have her executed once your father receives your cadaver." With that, Ontare turned and left, leaving Daralis to sink back down to the floor again, sobbing.

REVIEWWWWWW!

please?

A/N: 

pipinheart: Actually, there aren't guards. Imladris is surrounded by a natural guard- when an enemy steps into the river at its border, they are swept away. For example. If Liv Tyler hadn't taken the role of an awesome Elf in the movie (Glorfindel), we would have all seen that what happened, even though you think it's her, was not because of her, and was a result of the force behind Imladris. 

(If you couldn't tell, I'm not angry at you, I'm pissed that they both took away an awesome role and gave Liv Tyler way too much fucking credit. Sorry for the language. I get a bit too worked up. :) I'm okay now.)

Jennifer Bloom : You're super-cute and funny. :)


	17. Closer to Rescue

Chapter Seventeen

It was the dawn of the third day of Daralis' imprisonment. She was becoming worried, not for herself, but for her father and friends. She had realized that she had no idea what went on in Imladris- they had access to the wing of Lord Elrond, Elrohir Elladan. Anything could have happened. Tears began streaming down her face, leaving a clean track mark in the grime from the cave. 

__

'If anything happens to him,' she thought, _'It will be my fault. And I'll never forgive myself.' _

She became overcome with her worry as the day progressed. Eventually, her worry became grief at her certainty that her father, Elladan, and everyone else she loved were dead and gone.

She stopped crying suddenly. Reviewing her thoughts, she was devastated to realize that she was in love with Elladan. She had been stupid, she concluded, and held back, and now she would never get to tell him.

Her weeping began anew.

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Legolas and Elladan waited, separately, for the others to wake up so they could continue searching. Their horses stood ready to leave. Aragorn understood their impatience, but was annoyed by it. From his standpoint he realized the importance of rest. 

He knew neither of them had gotten much, if any.

"We will head southwest from here to reach the caves. At some point, we will lose all cover, and the horses shall have to be abandoned, and we shall continue on foot. This will make our journey longer." He watched Legolas' jaw twitch, and was grateful that he stayed silent. "Alright. Let us depart."

The group continued through that day, tracking the Orcs. In the afternoon, they sent their horses back in the direction of Mirkwood. They continued on until nightfall, at which time they stopped again to rest, at the protest of Legolas and Elladan.

"We cannot rest again!" Legolas exclaimed, horrified. "We have no idea where she is, o how she is being treated!" he approached Aragorn, appealing to Aragorn's own sense of family. "What if it were Eldarion, Aragorn? Would you rest?"

"If it were Eldarion, the guards would have kept him from harm." Legolas' eyes flared, and his fist clenched. He turned quickly from Aragorn before his violence got the best of him, and headed for a small grove of trees nearby.

Later that night, Elladan paced, wide-awake. The thought of Daralis imprisoned gave him nothing but uneasiness, and he could not understand how the others could rest at a time like this. His chest felt like it was being compressed. Desperate to speak to someone, he went to Elrohir's bedroll, but his brother's eyes were glazed over in a trance, and Elladan knew he shouldn't disturb him. He then went to Glorfindel, who was also in a sleeping state. With a start, he went silently to Legolas' side, but saw that he not only was asleep, but that his eyes were closed. He turned back to himself. He thought he may have to do something soon if Daralis wasn't found.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~

Daralis sat rocking and holding her knees. All she could think about was her fallen father, and Elladan, and the idea that she was at fault. Silent tears streamed down her face. She was racked with unbearable pain, knowing that Elladan would never hear her words, and imagining his face as he was taken into the catacombs of his family. Her entire body was tingling and shaking. She hadn't eaten in days and wasn't sure of how much longer she could take it. She has hungry, and felt lighter that she had when she'd arrived in her stone prison. 

It infuriated her that all she could do was sit there and wait - either to be rescued miraculously, or killed without mercy. She was used to being in control of her own destiny. And this current situation was both annoying and unsettling to her.

"What am I going to do?" she whispered into the darkness.

I know, I know. Waaay short. I'm sorry! But I know you want more chapters out, and plus I kinda felt as if a new day needed to begin in this whole beat sitch. So yeah. Going to write 18 now!

P.S. Spread "beat". It's like gross, ugly, or just not cool. 


	18. Metamorphosis

Chapter Eighteen

Elladan's mind was raging. At times, he was so furious at his situation that he saw spots. He hadn't rested in the five days they had been searching for Daralis, and he had no plans of doing so unless she was in his arms while he was.

He glanced at Legolas; his eyes were closed. Aragorn was snoring lightly, and then he met gray eyes identical to his own. Elrohir looked back at him with concern abounding over his features.

Elladan watched as his brother slowly stood and walked over to where he was sitting, separated from the rest.

"Elladan" Elrohir hesitantly began. He knew his brother's emotions were volatile.

"Elrohir, please, leave me be."

"I cannot! I worry for you, brother!" Elrohir's voice was laden with desperation as he spilled his fear.

"You would do better to worry for Legolas; he rests with his eyes closed." Elladan's tone was quick and cool, and his voice sounded slightly restrained

"I worry for Legolas as well. You both are very dear to me, and I will not stand by and watch the two of you descend into darkness."

"I cannot help the way I feel!" Elladan suddenly exclaimed, standing up to speak very close to Elrohir's face. "If you wish so badly to help me, go and find Daralis. It is she alone who can ease my suffering."

"Elladan, please-" Elrohir began, interrupted by Elladan's explosion.

"Do you not remember the day Nawen came home? And she would not speak like she used to, or smile like she used to, or breathe like she used to?"

Elrohir winced at the memory of their mother. "I do."

"And would you have me live with the same happening to the one other woman I have ever truly loved?" Elrohir could feel enormous pressure in his mind, Elladan's feelings and emotions pouring into him.

"I would not, Elladan. But when we find her, you must not be driven mad with anger and worry, lest you be of no more use to Daralis or anyone else who loves you!" Elladan looked away, and Elrohir continued. "Please, brother. Rest, and be prepared for the coming battle. Whatever reason it is that the Princess has been taken from us, she will not be given up without a fight."

Legolas vaguely heard identical voices arguing through the foggy mist in his mind. Again, he had forced himself into a deep sleep in hopes that Rhiannon would appear to him in his dreams, but again, he had been disappointed. He feared during the day that his body was becoming accustomed to this deeper manner of sleep, but when night fell, he could not bear the thought that his Silmeamin was elsewhere, in the dream world, perhaps waiting for another opportunity to speak to him.

Daralis lay down, slipping into a peaceful, resting state. She heard her mother's voice again, and tried to open her eyes, but found that they were too heavy. She was beginning to get worried when she couldn't see anything around her, but then felt a light pressure on her temples and heard Rhiannon's voice.

"Shhh, sweetheart, it's okay. Don't open your eyes, just listen to me." Daralis relaxed her body, and Rhiannon continued. "Dara, it's time for you to make the choice. Your human body is collapsing, and if you don't do something soon, you're going to pass."

"What's the use, Mom? What do I have to live for now, much less forever?"

"What are you talking about? Elladan's driving himself crazy with worry for you, your father is well, he's not well, and there is a troupe of Elves on their way to find you. You can't just let yourself go, what have I taught you?"

"What?"

"I said, what have I taught-"

"No, about Elladan and Atar."

"They're both sick with worry and despair over you."

"You mean they're alive?!"

"Of course they're alive, what else would they be?" Now, Daralis did open her eyes, only she looking straight up into the chocolate eyes of her mother, so she knew that her eyes were closed.

"I thought they were dead," she whispered.

"Of course not! You're the only one in Imladris who can't fight for herself."

"How do you even know about all these places and people?"

"I've been watching over your father since I went into the coma. And I've been watching over you since you arrived."

The next day, the eighth day of Daralis' imprisonment, Ontare walked into the space where she was being kept.

"Good morning, Princess. I thought that you might like to know- Imsiriel has been sent back to Mirkwood with the ransom note."

Daralis remained silent.

"She will arrive in approximately two weeks."

No response.

Ontare walked over to the frail princess, who was lying on the stone with her eyes closed. She kicked Daralis swiftly in the back, but received no response. She kicked again, and became slightly panicked when Daralis simply rolled over. She screamed for help.

"Wazrót! Ugluk!" Two Orcs rushed in at her screech, and stood waiting for instruction.

"Get her up. Take to my chambers, and lay her on the bed. Have someone revive her." At his moment, the eyes of the princess flew open. Her pupils had spread to fill the entire eye. The solid blue eyes glowed, turning from her azure shade to lightning blue as her breathing got heavier.

The two orcs looked down stupidly at her, and then up to Ontare's face, which was contorted in shock.

"GO! Our plan depends on her survival, if she is dead, so then is our hope!"

REVIEW!!


	19. Rescue

Chapter Nineteen

As the sun set that same day, Legolas and the others came upon the caves that Aragorn had mentioned.

The group quickly convened to discuss a plan of attack.

"We should enter, kill them, take Dara back, and leave," Elladan stated simply.

"We should enter, maim them fatally, take Dara back, and leave them to die whilst writhing in pain," said Legolas.

"We will sneak in, and make a silent attack. Some of you will go to find Princess Daralis, and the rest of us will finish the Orcs off," Glorfindel said.

They made plans of attack, and prepared to enter.

Daralis felt warmth around her. A stark contrast to her usual surroundings, she wanted to look around, but knew that she could not interrupt her process.

Besides, she reasoned, it was completely possible that she was radiating the heat from her own body. She felt feverish, and it was as if her soul and mind were being doused in flame, and yet still not burned.

The heat had progressively gotten warmer and warmer to the point where she could hardly take note of her surroundings, and at this point it was passing the realm of comfort.

She twitched.

The two Orc guards at the mouth of the main cave heard whizzing. Before they could register the noise, Legolas' arrows were lodged three each in their chests, and they were being passed by a number of Elves.

The group went silently into the main cavern, but it was impossible to miss them. A factory of Orcs rolled boulders, yelled, pulled huge carts of metal, and fought amongst each other. There were approximately 300 of them.

Legolas and Elladan began fighting their way through the mass, trying to reach the glowing archway that led deeper into the caverns in a search for Daralis.

"Well," began Aragorn, "If we each kill about 22, we shall have them all down" With that, he went into the foray, beginning his count.

He was followed by the rest of the group, who pulled out swords and bows and began to slay the huge force of Orcs who were almost certainly poised at the edge of their realms.

Elladan and Legolas made their way deeper into the intricate maze of caverns, the sound of their companions' fighting growing more and more faint as they did so.

Elladan was rushing ahead heedlessly, at times physically held back by Legolas.

At one point, he almost walked directly into the arms of a waiting Orc before Legolas shot it.

"Elladan! You must be more careful. You shall be absolutely no use whatsoever to my daughter if you find yourself captured before you can reach her."

"Are you not worried?" Elladan asked incredulously and a bit too loudly.

"Of course I am worried," Legolas hissed, "which is why I consider this mission too important to be so ignorant of my surroundings." His words seemed to break something inside of Elladan.

"I cannot see anything but her face, Legolas," Elladan admitted, sliding down the wall. "I have not for some time now. I admonished Elrohir for trying to help me, and now I act as if I have no skill in field battle. I do not know what I am doing anymore I am only driven by the fear that she should return with her mind spoiled and comprehension skewed. I know not what to do, Legolas. I have lost myself to Daralis completely." Legolas began to understand Elladan's sentiment for his daughter, and knew what he needed to hear.

"The fate of your mother, Elladan," Legolas began, "shall not be the fate of Daralis Isolde. We will find her this night. All I ask is that you be more careful. I will need your help before the end." He reached his hand out to help Elladan up.

The two continued, while the air around them became progressively warmer. They were quickly approaching the center of the compound, where they were both sure that they would find Daralis.

Legolas faintly heard screaming, while Elladan began to smell the rancid flesh of an Orc.

"Elladan. Do you hear that?" Elladan strained his ears, and did hear a female screeching somewhere off in the distance.

"I do. Do you smell that?" Legolas sniffed at the air, and his eyebrows went into a downward slant.

"I do. We are getting closer."

Daralis was now twitching violently as heat engulfed her. The sounds of screaming and arguing floated in and out of her mind, but it was incomprehensible to her.

"What is wrong with her?!" Ontare screamed hysterically at the Orc who kept attempting to hold Daralis still.

"I cannot say, but it is strong," he poofed out as he received a knee to his stomach.

"STOP HER!" Ontare let out a screaming wail. Her power was falling apart in front of her, held in the body of the brat shaking on the bed.

Legolas and Elladan, who were standing at the door of the entrance to the deepest cavern, could distinctly hear arguing. A female, not Daralis, was screaming at an unknown source, and when she received her reply, screamed again. There was something wrong with someone, and both of the Elves had a cold impression as to which it was. They heard moaning, and pushed the door open.

The sight that reached them was horrifying. All they could do was stare, mesmerized.

Daralis began to convulse violently on the bed, twisting her torso and flailing her legs uncontrollably. Moans began to escape her throat, getting louder and louder. Flames were licking at her very core, getting more and more painful. She felt as if she were being tortured, and tried to move away from it.

It was worse, still worse, until she felt herself break.

She arched her back unnaturally and screamed a high, wailing cry before collapsing into darkness.

Princess Daralis of Mirkwood was now a full Elf.

Review. Right this instant.

(thank you!!)


	20. Returning Home

Chapter Twenty

Elladan grabbed Ontare and twisted her around, putting a long blade to her neck. Legolas shot an arrow directly through the skull of the Orc at Daralis' bedside, and ran to collect his unconscious daughter. He placed a hand on her forehead. She was clammy, in a cold sweat. He whirled around to face her captor.

"Who are you?" he spat out. Ontare remained silent.

"How dare you take my daughter captive? What did you wish to prove?" There was still no response to Legolas' questions.

Elladan was quickly becoming irate. He put more pressure on the blade and hissed lowly into Ontare's ear.

"Answer his inquiry."

"I shall not speak. I refuse to put myself in a position of vulnerability." Legolas' face was in a grimace.

"You will receive a lifetime imprisonment, wench, for your crime. You may as well share your repulsive plot."

She spat at his feet.

"Come Elladan," Legolas began, scooping Daralis into his arms. "Let us depart." Elladan went first, leading the way out of the labyrinth of caverns.

In the main chamber of the cave, Aragorn, Elrohir and the others finished up the last of the Orcs.

They were visibly relieved to see Legolas and Elladan emerging with both Daralis and a captive, but confusion also graced the features of the warriors.

Daralis faintly heard voices and metal clanging around her, and she forced her eyes to open. A thought entered her mind immediately.

"Atar," she rasped, throat burning from thirst. "Atar we must get to Mirkwood immediately. Imsiriel's in trouble."

Legolas and Glorfindel raced ahead of the group, going back to Mirkwood with Ontare in tow. After Legolas had been able to discern the situation from Daralis, he left her in Elladan's arms in order to control the impending doom of Lady Imsiriel.

Three days away from Imladris, Daralis was almost completely healed. She had dark bruises on her wrists, face and back from Ontare's treatment, but her body was quickly conditioning to her elvish blood and the bruises healed rapidly. She sat with Elladan underneath a willow near the pond of the same glen they had first stopped to rest at.

Elladan thought back to his feeling the first time he had even visited the glen and winced.

"Daralis" Elladan began, pausing at the realization that he had nothing to say.

"What is it, Elladan?" She looked straight into his eyes, sparking passion and emotion inside of him.

" I was so worried for you, Daralis. You have no idea, no comprehensible idea of how much I wanted you safe with me." Daralis shifted her eyes to his face.

"I think I might. I was sure you were dead, Elladan."

"Why would you think such a thing?"

"Because I couldn't believe that they had gained access to the royal wing of Imladris and not killed all of the officials! I had no hint to tell me whether or not you or my father were okay, and I assumed the worst. At least in this case, I was pleasantly surprised."

"Have you so little faith in my combat skills?"

"I assumed that those same skills would have prevented my capture if you had still been alive, Elladan. It only made sense to me that both you and my father, along with all of my other loved ones in Imladris, had been slain. I am but a princess, and a recent one at that. It isn't logical for me to be taken, or even heard of." She looked at Elladan again, tears welling in her eyes. "I was so afraid that they were going to hurt me, Elladan. I didn't know what I could have meant to them, I just knew that they could have hurt me." He pulled her into his embrace and pulled away strands of chocolate hair from her eyes.

"They probably would have, Melamin." He changed the subject quickly. "Did the wench tell you anything about her plans?"

"She told me that she was going to use control of Mirkwood as ransom for my return. I told her that my grandfather would never have given her power, but she insisted that I was wrong. She kept telling me that he would give it up and I'd be killed anyway, that Mirkwood and it's people would be destroyed and that it would be all for me. I don't know what I would have done, Elladan. I don't know what I **could** have done!"

"Nothing, Melamin. Worry not, it is all over now."

Legolas and Glorfindel stopped to rest their horses. They dumped the bound Ontare against a tree, and Glorfindel took the horses to drink while Legolas stood facing the criminal. She glared at him, and he glared right back.

"It would seem," Legolas began, "that I have the better hand. We both glare, yes, but only I can stand and sit at will." He gestured to the bonds around her feet.

"That may be, but I command those who are your enemies."

"And **I** command those who **kill** my enemies with ease, and reason." He received another glare, but continued. "I am better than you, if only for the reason that I have committed no unjust crimes against others. Who do you think you are, to lay a hand on my daughter?"

"I am one who wants the former glory of Mirkwood to return."

"The glory of Mirkwood has returned, and it has grown greater than ever before. Who are you to judge my realm?"

"I am one who formerly resided in Mirkwood."  
"That makes you one of many, and still unworthy of criticism. Mirkwood nurtured you and you attack her princess?"

"Mirkwood was best when darkness dwelled in it! When it was taken away, my father was imprisoned."

"No doubt he deserved it. My father would never persecute his subjects unfairly."

"Thranduil does many things that you don't know about."  
"I would say that that is truer of you than me. You have no right to call me father such. He is your king. You know nothing of the political workings of Mirkwood, and you speak ignorantly against my statements now."

Ontare shifted her eyes away from the piercing, judgmental blue of her former sovereign.

Alright. I'm pumping these chapters out guys, and Daralis is probably going to get some in a few chapters. I do have a reason, however, for the lateness- finals and AP Testing! It's a bitch.

Rudhiriel out! (Hehe, I'm like Ryan Seacrest!)


	21. Well, We're Back!

Chapter Twenty One

As the sun broke over the hills, Imladris Elves lined the city walls the same way they did when Elladan came back from combat. This time, it was to welcome Daralis back to her temporary home. She smiled gracefully as the horse bearing she and Elladan rode into the gates, but inside her chest was pounding. She was amazed at the support given by the civilians. She also worried what she riding on the back of Elladan's horse would look like to the population of Imladris. Lord Elrond himself gave her a meaningful look as they passed him on Elladan's horse on their way to the stables.

Daralis was taken directly to the Healing Houses, where an Elf named Astalion gently tended to her wounds. She sat on the end of a hospital bed with her feet touching the floor, and Astalion stood in front of her. He rubbed a stinging solution of a gash on her forehead, and she winced.

"My greatest apologies, Princess. I should have warned you." Daralis already felt better.

"That's alright, I feel fine. Thank you, Astalion, for cleaning me up."

"It is my pleasure, Princess. It is also my job." She laughed with him as Elladan walked in, still holding his armor.

"Will she be alright, Astalion?"

"She will be fine, Lord Elladan."

"Thank you. Might we have some privacy?"

"Of course. I have others to tend to." With that, Astalion left the bed to cross to the other side of the chamber, leaving the two alone.

Elladan gave Daralis a quick kiss.

"Will you be coming to dinner tonight?" He asked. Daralis looked the floor, her hair sweeping over her eyes as she did so.  
"I'm not sure, Elladan. I don't know if I can face everyone so soon." She looked up at him, pleading silently for him to understand. He swept her hair away from her face and responded.

"It is fine if you do not wish to attend. I will stay with you."  
Daralis smiled lightly at him. "That sounds good."

"Fantastic. I have to go and meet with my father, but I wanted to make sure you were alright."

"I'm alright, Elladan. Thank you." They kissed again, longer this time, and Elladan turned and left for Lord Elrond's study.

Daralis sank into the bath in her chambers. Her hair clouded at her shoulders in the bath. Her chambermaid, Reidwen, had put in oils given by Astalion to relax muscles and relieve pain, and the bath smelled of chamomile and mint. Daralis leaned her head back and closed her eyes, reveling in the hot water on her skin and the invigorating smell around her. She was by herself, as she had sent Reidwen away for the night. She could bathe and dress herself for once.

Her thoughts wandered to her father. He would most likely arrive in Mirkwood tonight or tomorrow, and then it would be almost two weeks before he would be back - Ontare had to be fairly prosecuted, a process that she knew her grandfather insisted upon. Legolas would surely resent it this time.

She smirked as she imagined her furious father watching Ontare be ceremoniously imprisoned. Daralis herself had watched it happen once, and it took upwards of five hours when done properly. She had seen the look on her father's face when they were still together when leaving the caves. He wanted to kill Ontare himself, and he wanted to do it immediately.

She didn't blame him, of course. **She** wanted to kill Ontare, and **she** wanted to do it immediately.

She ran a finger over her ear, and her eyes opened at the feeling it sent through her veins. Her ears had always been slightly more pointed than the other ears she had seen, but if she looked into a mirror, she knew she would see a much more drastic point. All of her senses were heightened. She could feel things she wasn't touching, she knew they were there. She heard a symphony in nature, not just the animals or elements nearest to her. She understood why the Elves had such a deep respect for nature- it was formidable, and it deserved respect.

Her eyes felt.. wider. It was as if she saw everything around her in a bigger scale, she could see more, and everything she saw was riddled with details that she had never even thought to consider before. Everything about seemed wider, bigger, better. She loved experiencing these new sensations, and was sad to realize that over time, they would no longer be new- she would get used to them, and stop appreciating them. Before that time, though, she wanted to taste, and smell, and hear and touch and see everything she could.

She shivered when she remembered that Elladan was coming to eat dinner with her.

Elladan went down to the kitchens after speaking with his father to inform them that he and Princess Daralis would be dining in her room that night, and to send up food. When he entered, however, he happened upon Elrohir and one of the chambermaids, Reidwen, locked in an amorous embrace.

"Elbereth, Onooro, this _is_ rich!" Elladan said, laughter in his voice. The two broke away instantly, and Reidwen blushed from head to toe- even her ears went pink.

"Elladan, you cannot tell Father. Please, you must not tell Father!" Elrohir pleaded to Elladan.

"Of course I shan't tell Father, Elrohir. But really, in the kitchens? You have a room, and so does she. It is as if you wish to be caught!"

"I could not go to the servants' wing, it would be far too suspicious, and we could not enter my room, as there were three maidens already cleaning it!"

"Then wait an hour! You have never been able to control your desires, Elrohir." He turned to Reidwen. "I am sorry, my lady, I have been rude. I am Elladan, and what is your name?"

"Reidwen, Lord Elladan." Elladan put on a mock-appalled face.

"Oh please, call me Elladan. You _have _traded bodily fluids with my twin, after all. We are practically family!" Reidwen blushed again and quickly mumbled a reason to depart.

When they were alone, Elrohir reacted.

"Elladan, why must you do these things to me?"

"Which things, brother?" Elladan feigned surprise, infuriating Elrohir.

"I am happy with her! I love her! You cannot understand, I realize that, but that does not mean that you have to taint what I have!"   
"You know nothing of what I understand, Elrohir."

"I know everything of what you understand!" Elrohir exclaimed with fury. "I feel every emotion you do! You love Daralis, yes, but she has never returned that love to you. You do not understand what it is like to receive her love in return, and you have yet to tell her that you love her!"

Elladan was silent.

"It seems as if I got it right, Onooro, " Elrohir retorted lowly.

Elladan turned from his brother and went in search of those he had come to talk to.

Reidwen had burst back into Daralis' room in distress. Daralis screamed when she came in, but instantly sobered up when she saw her face.

"Reidwen? What's wrong?"  
"Lord Elladan, Princess, he-" Daralis sat up, splashing water all over the floor.

"Is he alright? Is he hurt?"

"He is fine, Princess."

"Did he do something? What happened?"

"Princess, it is a long story, but I have come back to your room because that is where I told he and his brother I was going, and I cannot lie to my sovereigns."  
"Well, tell me what happened."

"I cannot, Princess." Daralis hated to do this, but she absolutely needed to know what was going on.

"Reidwen, I am ordering you to tell me what has happened this instant." Reidwen looked taken aback at first, but then complied.

"Well, Lord Elrohir and I we.. well, we have we are" Daralis gasped.

"Are you in love with Elrohir?!" she began to beam when Reidwen nodded softly.

"Oh, Reidwen, I'd hug you if I wasn't naked and wet. Okay, I'm sorry, please continue."

"Erm, earlier, circumstances led us to the kitchens, where we began to to.. well, we were"

"Were you makin' out with Elrohir in the kitchens?!" Reidwen fixed her with a strange look. "Oh, I mean, were you kissing Elrohir in the kitchens?"

"Princess, I was. And then Lord Elladan walked in, and he made some comments, and I was terribly embarrassed, and then I came here because I need to get away."

"Well, what did he say?"

"He said that Elrohir and I had traded bodily fluids, and that he and I were practically family." Daralis' mouth went into an O. "He **said** that?!"

"He did, Princess."

"I'll take care of him for you, Reidwen. Though Elrohir's probably already beaten him." Reidwen gave a small smile as she helped Daralis out of the bath.

Daralis was shivering in anticipation of Elladan's arrival for an entirely different reason now.

Elvish Translation:

Onooro - brother

I'm REALLY REALLY sorry I haven't been updating I have a terrible case of writer's block, if you can believe it! Ugh. If you wanna give me ideas/ suggestions as to how the story should end, I will read them with relish.

Also, I'm posting a companion story to this chapter about Elrohir and Reidwen, so yeah. It's called Predestined.

Okay, that's a pretty long one, guys! At least, for me it is. But I think you all deserve it. Especially if you REVIEW! :) (insert shameless pleas of reviewing here) Thanks guys!


	22. Apology and Reward

Chapter Twenty Two

Daralis sat at the vanity in her room, rubbing balm on her lips while Reidwen brushed her hair for her. She was dressed in a midnight blue silk nightgown with cream-colored lace trimming the edges and the swell of her breasts.

Reidwen brushed her hair until it curled at the ends, and pinned it high on her head, giving her face a delicate, graceful look.

"Princess," Reidwen began, " If I may ask, what do you plan to do to Lord Elladan?"

"Ah, Reidwen," Daralis replied with a sly smile, "I'm not sure it's very proper for me to tell you that."

Reidwen blushed.

In the next room, Elladan pulled on a blue tunic. He went to his balcony to see if he could see Daralis, but her balcony doors were closed and the curtains drawn. He came back into his room, unsure of what to do now that he was dressed and ready. He left his room, passed Daralis' door and went to Elrohir's.

He knocked softly.

"Elrohir?" He received no answer. "Elrohir, let me in. I want to speak to you." Still no answer. "Elrohir, please. I want to apologize. I did not mean what I said." The door opened, and Elrohir stared back at his mirror image with a stony look.

"I will allow you to apologize to me, Elladan, but before I can fully forgive I ask that you apologize to Reidwen as well. She does not deserve the treatment you gave her."

"Fine, brother. Where can I find her?"

"She is next door helping Daralis prepare for dinner."

Elladan said nothing and turned to Daralis' door.

Daralis and Reidwen heard a resounding knock on the door, and Reidwen went to answer. She was shocked to see Elladan standing there.

"Lady Reidwen," he began, "please allow me to apologize for the horrid way in which I treated and spoke to you."

Elladan's voice drew Daralis to the door, and she got there in time to watch him kneel on one knee to Reidwen.

"Lady Reidwen, I have wronged you. I did not mean to embarrass or tease, and it is only my fault that the situation became so cruel. I realize my flaw and I can only hope to correct it now. Can you accept my apology?"

Reidwen blushed furiously, believing that he was jesting until she saw Elrohir's visage behind him.

"I accept your apology, Elladan. Diola lle." She smiled, and he stood up.

"Fantastic. Now go to my brother," Elladan suggested, moving his gaze to Daralis. "Daralis is already the most beautiful creature I have ever seen, and she needs nothing else." He received a smile from both females, and Reidwen slid past him.

Elladan entered the room, and Daralis backed away from his with a playful smile.

"Get out of here, you, I'm not ready yet."

"I will not. But you can continue getting ready. Do you need to change clothes?" He looked her up and down suggestively and raised his eyebrows. She laughed.

"You insufferable flirt! I most certainly do not. But you need to leave, before they send out dinner up, and they see us in here together with me in my nightgown."

"They can handle it," he replied moving towards her slowly.

"Elladan!" she replied, giggling. "I'm not sure if they can!"

He reached out and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her in. She laid her arms over his shoulders and kissed him lightly.

"That was a very sweet thing you did for Reidwen just now." She gave another kiss. "I'm very proud of you." Another kiss. "Very proud."

"Oh really?" Elladan replied, a wide smile on his face. "How proud?"

"Oh, extremely proud." He touched his lips to hers again, reveling in her moan when the kiss went deeper. He pulled his fingers through her hair, his mind buzzing with pleasure. A knock resounded on the door.

"Go into the bathing chamber, Elladan." She went to the door and opened it, allowing the kitchen staff to enter first with a small table, which they placed next to the rosewood table holding a flower vase they placed down the food, poured wine, and left. When the door closed, Elladan entered the bedchamber and crossed again to Daralis, who was sipping from her goblet of wine. He picked up a berry from the dessert platter, and placed it at her lips. While she was eating it, she put down her goblet and pulled the pins from her hair. It fell around her shoulders in a cloud of mahogany strands.

Elladan ran his hands up her back, and she winced and hissed out air.

"What is it, Melamin?"

"Just my back." At his inquisitive look, she explained. "She kicked me, once." Elladan pulled her to the bed.

"Take off your gown," he whispered huskily. When she complied, he ran his eyes over her quickly, then exhaling a breath, he lay her down on her stomach.

Daralis' skin tingled with anticipation before she felt light kisses going up her spine. She fought the urge to arch her back into Elladan's touch.

His fingers went lightly over her skin, touching the fading bruise in the middle of her back near her spine.

"I cannot believe I allowed this to happen to you."

"It isn't your fault, Elladan. I don't blame you at all."

"I blame myself." He turned her over onto her back and knelt on the bed. "Of course, if I had been in bed with you, it could have been prevented." She smiled up at him.

"Then how about you make sure that I'm never taken again?"

"I may have to do that, Melamin." He lowered himself over her and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, their lips touching with an igniting spark. Elladan's tunic hit the floor, followed closely by his breeches.

Daralis wriggled as she felt his mouth on her chest.  
"Elladan" she hissed out. He moved lower. "Ah! Sweet Eru, Elladan!" Elladan's mouth placed kissed around her navel. "Elladan, I'm sick of your teasing."

"I have yet to begin teasing you, Melamin." He pushed her legs opened and kissed the inside of her thigh.

"Elladan, I " She felt another kiss on her thigh; he was moving closer. She moved her hips, but Elladan's hands soon held them down. "Elladan, don't tease me!" she exclaimed in frustration.

He flicked his tongue over a tiny spot centimeters away from the apex between her leg and her core, then raised his head.

"I think you'll enjoy my type of teasing." He pressed a kiss onto her bud, and her back arched despite his restricting hands.

"Elbereth, Elladan," she moaned breathily, "Stop that." Her hands contradicted her command, however, and she released the sheets that were clenched in her hands. She threaded her fingers through his hair and held him there, squirming as he continued his ministrations.

Elladan hummed, sending vibrations up her body, and she couldn't stop the following climax. Her fingers clenched, and she moved her hands to rub over the tip of his right ear, reveling in the following moan.

"Elladan You're driving me crazy" He trailed kisses back up her stomach. When he was lying completely over her, she could taste herself in his kiss. She felt his arousal between her legs as they kissed and she recovered from her first orgasm. After a few minutes, she broke the kiss and looked into his gray eyes.

"I'm ready, Elladan." The look he gave her back made her skin buzz.

"Are you sure?"

"I know it." Her every sense was heightened as she waited for the moment, and then finally it was there.

She moaned as he slid into her, feeling herself open and stretch for him.

His face was taut with concentration and his eyes were closed. Daralis reached up and took his face in her hands, her fingers trembling when he slid out of her and pushed back in. Heat went through her veins as he hit the spot inside of her and her arousal flared.

"Elladan," she gasped, as he picked up a quicker pace, "Don't ever stop."

"I shan't," he whispered into her ear, before pulling his torso up higher so that he could thrust into her more fiercely.

Daralis ran her hands over her own body, quickly reaching a second pinnacle. At the sensations that brought, Elladan released himself, rolling over so that she was resting on top of him.

"I love you, Daralis." She heard his words through a hazy fog rolling into her mind.

"I love you too, Elladan," she whispered back to him as she fell asleep.

Was it good for you? Hehe, just kidding. Alright, going back to writing!

Rudhiriel out!


	23. Naked Screaming Fight

Chapter Twenty Three

Daralis opened her eyes, the fuzzy surroundings of her bedroom becoming crisper as the memories of the previous night began entering her mind. She raised her hand from Elladan's chest to meet his gray eyes looking back at her admiringly.

"Quel amrun," he said, a smile widening on his face.

"Good morning to you too," she replied, laying her head back on his chest. She caught a glimpse of the light breaking through her curtains. "What time is it?"

"It is nearly midday," he replied nonchalantly. She was slightly horrified.

"That's three meals we haven't been present at: dinner last night, breakfast and lunch today people will start to get suspicious."

"And if they do we shall tell them anything and everything that they wish to know." She looked up at him in amusement.

"Maybe not everything" She said, trailing off. Elladan smiled down at her and placed a kiss on her brow.  
"Maybe not everything. What say we miss dinner?" Daralis slid her body over his until they were eye to eye.

"I say that's a good idea."

Miles away, Legolas, Glorfindel and Ontare rode across the Mirkwood border. As the sentinel recognized their prince, they sent messengers to the next watchtowers to forewarn them of Prince Legolas' arrival.

The doors to Thranduil's throne room were pulled open as Legolas approached.

"Atar, where have you imprisoned Lady Imsiriel?"

"She is in the deepest dungeons, where else would she be?"

"Well, you must let her out."  
"And why must I do this?"  
"Because she is not the true culprit! This elleth was found in the caves where Dara was being held, and she was commanding the Orkish forces. She sent Lady Imsiriel back here as a default, in order to frame her."

The guards had already taken hold of the bound Ontare. Thranduil looked to the sentinels behind Legolas, and gave them orders to find and release Imsiriel.

In Rivendell, Daralis slowly rose from her bed to go into her bathing chambers. Elladan was laying on her bed in a sleeping state, so she decided to take the opportunity to slip into a hot bath. Because she knew where Reidwen would be, she tossed on her dressing robe and slipped quietly in the hallway, petrified that someone would pass by and see her in her state of undress.

She knocked on Elrohir's door, mentally willing him to reach the door faster, and when the door opened, and his head popped around it, blocking him from view, Daralis frantically whispered,

"Elrohir! Can I come in?"

"Of course, Daralis, come in."

Daralis entered, took one look at Elrohir, gasped, and turned her head away so fast that it hurt her neck. Her eyes fell upon Reidwen, laying in his bed, barely covered by the sheets. She, like Elladan was in Daralis' own room, was asleep.

Elrohir looked at her as if she were insane.

"Daralis, what is the matter with you?"  
"Elrohir, you are standing there **stark naked**, and you have the audacity to ask what's **wrong**?!"  
"Well, you have seen it before, have you not?"  
"What are you talking about? And-would-you-**please**-cover-u p-your-**PENIS**!!"

At Daralis' loud exclamation, Reidwen stirred on Elrohir's bed. She sat up, blinked a few times, and then looked, with a horrified expression, at Daralis in her dressing gown and Elrohir in his birthday suit.

"Elbereth, Elrohir! Why didn't you wake me, I have missed nearly an entire day's labor, and I shall be questioned for my absence, at that!"  
"I felt that your time would be better spent with me," Elrohir replied instantly.

Daralis could feel an argument coming on, and tried to go to the door, but naked Elrohir was standing directly in front of it, and that to deter her was as powerful as the magical guarding spells around Lothlorien and Rivendell together.

Around her, the fight escalated.

"You may be right, Elrohir, but that is not your choice! You should have awaken me, and then I could have decided."  
"But what would you have decided? We both know that answer!"

Her eyes flashed with fury at his indignation, and she stood, pulling the sheets around her form.  
"Then you would DEAL WITH MY DECISION!" Daralis jumped at her outburst.

Reidwen moved closer to Elrohir, speaking with desperation in her voice. "I know, Elrohir, I **know** that you are my sovereign, but this is absurd. If this is the way that you value my life and my opinion, by making my choices for me and disregarding my feelings when you KNOW that I would choose a different path than the one that most benefited you, then I cannot pursue a life of any sort with you. I shall find another girl to clean your room, I do not wish to see you anymore." She snatched her clothes up from the floor, and stormed out of the room still wrapped in the sheets, leaving Elrohir with a shocked expression on his face.

Daralis slunk out of the room, and went back into hers, where Elladan was awake, completely naked, and waiting for an explanation for the noise from the next room.

"Oh Elladan, you'll never believe this," Daralis began breathlessly. "Elrohir and Reidwen just had a naked screaming fight!"  
"A naked screaming fight?"

"Yep!" Elladan looked at her, baffled.

"Please define a 'naked screaming fight'."

"They were verbally arguing, and they were both naked!"  
"You saw Elrohir naked?!"  
"Yeah, and it was traumatizing." Elladan raised his eyebrow.

"You realize, of course, Melamin, that we are identical?"  
"Oh, that's not what I meant. It's different with you, you know that. He kinda sprung it on me, I had no idea to expect it. Anyway, I think they broke up."  
"Elrohir is feeling sorrow right now, I can feel it too."

"Go to him, he needs someone there, I think."

"I shall, but will you be alright?"  
"Of course I will, don't be ridiculous."

Elladan kissed her briefly, pulled on his clothes, kissed her again, and left to comfort his brother.

Alright. I think this is straying too far into the realm of Elrohir and Reidwen, so I'm going to write a chapter in the other fic.

REVIEW, RIGHT NOW!


	24. Too Many Dreams

Chapter Twenty Four

Daralis could hear things smashing against the walls in Elrohir's room. Then the smashing stopped, and yelling started. Daralis was positive it was Elrohir yelling at Elladan. Elrohir was furious at himself.

Daralis pulled on a day-gown and went in search of Reidwen in the kitchens.

She barely reached the end of the hall when she found her, collapsed with her face in her hands.

"Reidwen? Reidwen, come on, get up, we'll go into my room." She pulled Reidwen up, being careful not to tug at the sheets vicariously covering her body.

When she finally had Reidwen in her room, she was surprised not to see tears.

"Hey, look at me," Daralis said softly. "We're going to handle this, alright?" Reidwen shook her head in response, causing Daralis to pull her out to arm's length.

"What do you mean, 'no'? You and Elrohir were meant for each other!"

"I cannot be with him, Princess. All my life I have lived serving others and having no voice, and when I was with Elrohir, I felt that I could leave that behind and become my own person. Now I don't feel that way anymore."  
"Do you love him?" Daralis asked.  
"I love him more than anything," Reidwen replied fiercely.

"You've got to be with him, then." She tightened the silk folds over Reidwen's body and pulled her out of the room, stopping at Elrohir's door. Daralis knocked firmly, and when there was no response, she hissed at Reidwen not to move and pounded on the door with her fist. Elladan finally popped his head around the door, and before he could deny her from entering, as he obviously wanted to do, she was inside and was pulling a half-naked Reidwen behind her.

Daralis realized with relief that Elladan had persuaded Elrohir to cover himself up.

She stormed up to him and poked him in his bare chest.

"You will talk it out with her, right now. You will also be more considerate of her situation, and you will **not** yell at her." She turned to Reidwen. "And you, you need to be more understanding of Elrohir, and listen to him." She went to Elladan. "We are going back to my room."

Everyone followed her instructions.

In her room, she and Elladan laid in bed, jokingly listening for signs of a struggle in the room next door, and soaking in the silence and contentedness of the room.

"Elladan?"  
"Hmm?"  
"I'm getting kinda hungry maybe we should go to dinner?"  
He smiled and placed a kiss on the top of her head.  
"We will, then. I'll get you a bath, and then I shall come back later, and we can go to dinner." She let out a humming sigh.

"You're too good to me, Elladan," she said, closing her eyes at the loss of heat as he got up from the bed.

Before she knew it, he was leaning over her from behind, tracing little kisses over her jawbone.

"I cannot help it, Daralis," he whispered to her, "I love you far too much to give you anything but the best that I can."

There was a slight pause, during which Elladan could see Daralis' face. With a surprisingly rapid rate he became terrified; he was afraid that she did **not** love him, that she had only said that she **did** love him the night before because she was in the throes of passion, and that his world was about to come crashing down around him.

"I love **you**, Elladan," she replied softly, calming his fears instantly.

He pulled on his clothes and went to find someone to draw her a bath.

Legolas sat in the conference room, watching Ontare being sentenced to eternity in the cells beneath Mirkwood. After everything was completed and she was taken away, he let out a breath of relief he had been holding in since he discovered Daralis' empty bed. As it was afternoon, he would not be leaving to return to Imladris until the next morning. He decided to begin preparing to leave. He went to the craftsman who made his arrows, where he filled his quiver. He checked on his horse, and then went to his father's office to make sure that the supplies for he and his entourage were being collected. By the time he was done with this business, the sun was setting.

He retired to his bedchambers for the rest of the night, looking forward to being able to rest after the ordeal was now finished. He felt much as he had in Gondor in the days following the destruction of Sauron.

Sinking into a steaming bath, Legolas felt all of his muscles unclench and relax. He let out another breath, this time a sigh of contentment. He missed his daughter, but felt that now he had given her the justice she deserved. He missed her mother, but he felt that he had done what she would have wanted. This thought comforted him. And he finished his bath dwelling on the dreams he had had before Daralis' rescue, both puzzled and delighted by them- perhaps it meant that he could finally be reunited with Rhiannon?

Dressing for bed, Legolas pulled on an ivy pair of baggy, silken breeches and climbed into his bed, feeling entirely comfortable.

That night he had a dream. He decided the next morning that he was having entirely too many dreams.

He dreamt of his time governing in Ithilien, as well as his visits from Gimli. While thinking of them the next morning on his way back to Imladris, these subjects struck him as very odd. Then with a start, he remembered a few seconds at the end of his dream, feeling as if he was gliding toward Rhiannon, who was dressed all in white.

He would return to Ithilien soon.

Okay, SHAME ON ME, I know. I KNOW!

I started a job, and I'm busy. In fact, I just finished this chapter at like, 1:30 AM, because I work at a theatre and I have to make sure everything's ready for closing.

But enough with my excuses. I've just realized the ending I want. So now the story will move along much more nicely. I'm going to have Daralis leaving Rivendell very soon, just to let you know. I don't know how long she's been there, but I need to get her out of there, so I'm sorry if it doesn't compute time-wise. I'm sure you all want chapters more than timeline accuracy, right? Right. Alright, I'm going to start on 25 now.


	25. Rushed

Chapter Twenty Five

The day that Legolas arrived back in Imladris, Daralis awoke early in Elladan's arms. She went back to her room and bathed, brushed her hair, and dressed, only beckoning Elladan to her aid when she needed help fastening her mother's necklace around her neck.

He smiled at her in her looking glass.

"You glow today, Dara." She turned her head to look at him, beaming.  
"I'm crazy excited! I really can't wait for my father to return."  
"I spoke to my own father last night. Legolas and his party should return within the next hour. Do you wish to eat?"  
"Alright, but not much. My stomach is a bit upset. I can't figure out for the life of me why I'm nervous, though"

Daralis stood among Elladan, Elrohir and Elrond at the gates of Imladris. When the first elves came up the path, she let out a small squeal and began to shift from foot to foot.

By the time Legolas had dismounted, she had set off at a full sprint. When he turned around he registered what was about to happen just in time to catch his daughter, who had flung herself at him.

"Atar!" Legolas was laughing merrily, along with most of Imladris. Daralis served a sheepish grin. "I have really missed you, you know ," She said, a warm blush spreading itself onto her face.

"I know," Legolas replied, tilting his head down to place kisses on her cheeks. "I have missed you greatly as well. How have you fared?"  
"I've been fine," she replied quickly. "What about Ontare?"  
"She is imprisoned in Mirkwood. Do not worry anymore about her," he finished. Daralis could see that that was all he wanted to say on the matter. He leaned down to speak softly into her ear.

"Dara, our time here in Imladris is coming to an end. I want to speak with you later, when you have time."

She was so surprised by his reminder that she did not reply.

"I am going to Ithilien when we leave here, Dara. I want you to accompany me."  
"When are we leaving Imladris?"

"In one months' time."

"But that it's really soon!"  
"I realize that, Daralis. That is why I am beginning to make plans for us now. How do you feel about Ithilien?"

"Sure, I'll come, whatever. Um, right now, I have to go."

Legolas eyed his daughter strangely as she left his room.

Elladan heard a fevered knock on his door. When he opened it, he saw a fevered Daralis standing there, a look of dread on her face.

"Elladan, do you realize what's coming up?"  
"Do you mean dinner?" He asked with an amused look on his face. Daralis became exasperated.

"Of course I don't mean dinner! Elladan, it's almost time for me to leave! I'm going to Ithilien with my father in a month. ONE MONTH!"

Elladan's face took on the same shocked look that Daralis' had.

"Only one month? Sweet Elbereth."

"That's right, ya smart-ass. A month."

"I should go, Dara. I will come later to escort you to the welcome feast."

"Oh-" She began to reply.

Before Daralis could protest, Elladan had left her alone in his room.

Legolas was practicing in the archery fields when Elladan found him.

"Legolas, pardon me. I must speak with you. I have just spoken to Daralis.. she tells me that the two of you are leaving in one months' time. Is this true?"

"It is."

"I would like your approval to marry Daralis." The bow Legolas was holding slipped.

"What?!"

"Please, Legolas. I cannot live without her. I will come to Mirkwood, if I must. Please do not force me to be apart from her."

"I- I cannot fathom-"  
"Legolas, I beg of you. I only want her happiness."  
"I concede. You will propose to my daughter. If she accepts, then you have my blessing to marry her."

If he could have, Elladan would have flown back to the castle.

Meanwhile, Daralis was in Elrohir's room talking to him.

"How is everything going with you and Reidwen?" They had been making small talk for some time, and Daralis decided to ask the only question she was truly interested in.

"Not very well, Dara. She is still furious with me, the only time I see her is when I force my way into the kitchens or when she serves the meals. And she will not speak to me in those times. I am distraught about it. She is the one. I think about marrying her, living with her, sailing with her I can no longer imagine a future without her."

"Wait, what? No one told me there were yachts here!" Daralis looked insulted.  
"What is a yacht?" Elrohir had fixed her with a baffled look.

"It's a boat! You said you wanted to sail with Reidwen? That's a bit random, by the way."  
Elrohir smiled at her, beginning to explain.

"Nay, Tarien pinilya. I meant that I would sail to the Undying Lands with her."  
"I'm sure you've mentioned the Undying Lands before can you explain them to me?"

"The time of the Elves is coming to an end, Daralis. It is time for Men to live in the world they have created for themselves. But we cannot sacrifice our lives for the mistakes of Men. And so the Elves sail to Valinor. It is a place without sickness, death, pain and suffering. That is why it is called the Undying Lands. It is the resting place and sanctuary for the Elves of Middle Earth."  
"Are there already Elves there?"

"Yes. There are many. The last ships are leaving now."  
"And what about those who don't sail?"  
"They will stay in Middle Earth to die."

"Oh," She said, her voice diminished. "Are you going to sail soon?"  
"I have not decided. I do know that I will go with Elladan, and he with me. We only need to realize where it is we want to be. While I was with Reidwen, I knew that eternity wasn't long enough. I could smell the white shores."

"You're still with Reidwen."

"I-"

A knock on the door signaled an arrival. Dara went to the door, opened it, and said,

"Well, speak of the Devil!"

And with that, she had left.

Daralis went to Elladan's room, having been kicked out of Elrohir's by Reidwen. It was strange to her that her knocking went unanswered, but she knew that he was probably somewhere else in the grounds.

Luckily for Elladan, who was hatching his plans for proposal, Daralis certainly wasn't in the mood to look for him. So she went to her father's chambers.

She knocked softly, listening for the sound of someone approaching the door.

As always, he caught her by surprise.

"Dara! What are you doing here?"

"Oh, well, I wasn't really doing anything, and I thought maybe we could talk."  
"Of course. Come in."

When she had herself settled, she began to think about the question she wanted to ask Legolas.

"Atar, will you sail to Valinor?"

"Where is that question coming from?"  
"From me. Please answer."

"I was not planning on it. I have much here in Middle Earth that I love and want to see for the rest of my days even though they may be short."  
"Well, you'll have to decide soon, won't you? Elrohir said that the last ships are leaving."

"I can have my own ship built in Ithilien. If I wish to go, I shall."

"Oh."

"Daralis? You seem upset. Is there something wrong?"  
"I don't know. I can't decide whether or not to sail, and it's just very hard."

"Well, I will be here for some time yet. And I will always be here for you, whether we are together or not."

She smiled a small smile. She was comforted, but not satiated.

Elladan was in his father's study, speaking with him.

"Atar, I have decided to marry Daralis."  
"And has she accepted?"  
"I have not asked her. But I cannot accept no for an answer." Elrond turned to the bookcase behind him, pulling out a thick volume. When he opened it, there was a small hidden space inside. He brought out a Mithril and diamond ring, much like Rhiannon's necklace, and gave it to Elladan.

"This was your mother's. I believe that she, as well as I, would approve highly of Tarien Daralis. You would certainly make me proud by beginning a family with her. But bear in mind that the ships leaving for Valinor dwindle. And she must be prepared to go with you."

"Atar." Elrond looked at his son deeply, into his eyes and beyond the physical. "Atar, if she is not prepared I will stay here with her."

The book Elrond was holding slapped the desktop as it landed. Elrond stared, horrified, at his son.

"You cannot mean it!"

"I do, Atar. I know that this is distressing to you. I do. But I believe that only the will of the Valar could bring someone like Dara into my life. And the happiness she has given me will more than account for the eons that I shall lose by living here." His father did not look pacified.

"Do not fret this way, Atar. It is not certain that she wishes to remain here."

Daralis sat in her bedroom, in front of her vanity, getting dressed. She knew that Reidwen and Elrohir were busy "making up", so she'd have no help, and she decided to get dressed early. She donned herself in the same ivory sating gown she wore the day she first saw Elladan, and she put on her mother's necklace.

She had promised herself to make Imsiriel proud with her hair tonight. She felt immense sadness that she would be leaving Imladris soon, but wanted to leave a lasting impression.

Fifteen minutes later, while she was posing to herself in the looking-glass, she head a knock on the door.

"Now who the Hell is that?" She pondered out loud, raising from her chair to find out for herself.

When she opened it, Elladan came in, looking positively giddy.

Daralis embraced him and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"You're in a good mood." She turned from him to go back to her vanity.

"That I am, Melamin, because I have good news to share with the population of Imladris!"

"Wow, what is -" Before she could finish her question, she saw him kneeling in the mirror. She whirled around, her hand going to cover her gaping mouth.

"What are you doing?"  
"I love you, Dara. I love you more than I love anything else. You have made me so happy, and I never want that feeling to end. I wish to make you happy too, I want to make you feel beautiful. Please be my wife." He slid the ring onto her finger.

"Elladan, I- I-" She was breathless, speechless, everything he had expected. He waited to hear the words.

"I can't."

WELL, WELL, THAT WAS CRUEL OF ME!

Maybe if you **review**, I'll be sweet and give you another. ;-)

And yes, part of Elladan's proposal was from Maroon 5's "She Will Be Loved". I just bought their CD, and it's amazing.

That is all.


	26. Emotions and Explanations

Chapter 26

"What?" Elladan felt as though all his breath had been knocked out of him. "But, Dara..."

Daralis put her hand up to stop him. "Elladan. I can't marry you. I… I want to stay here with my father, and you are sailing with your family very soon. I can't ask you to stray from your family, but I won't leave mine either. I feel like I've only just found the missing part of me, and I've been searching for him for twenty years!"

Elladan's face took on a desperate edge.

"I cannot live without you, Daralis."

"Yes, you **can**! You lived without me for centuries before I came, and when you leave, you'll be happy, in a place where you can see all of your loved ones again."

"But not you. I love you more than anyone else." Daralis' face took on a wistful quality.

"Don't say that. It's disrespectful."

"Daralis, I will not sail if you must stay."

"Don't you realize that your father would kill me if I even thought about keeping you here with me? He can't take another of his children staying behind to die, or watch the world die, in any case. And I couldn't live with myself if I were the cause of your death."

"Daralis. Listen to me. An eternity in paradise means nothing to me if I can't share it with you. You are the eternity I want. And even if I must experience my forever with you in the realm of death, I will take that over anything waiting for me across the sea." His words were intense, but they were true.

"Stop it, Elladan. I want you to leave." She was panicking; he could see it in her eyes. One more attempt before he lost her forever…

"But, Dara-" She broke free from his enclosing arms.

"Please leave me, Elladan."

He went.

Legolas heard a hurried knock on his door. He opened it to see his daughter's tear-stained, flushed face. He moved quickly to embrace her.

"Daralis? What has happened, penneth?"

"Elladan…" Daralis began, only to be interrupted by her father.

Legolas immediately held her out at arm's length.

"WHAT did he DO?!"

"Atar, stop it. He didn't do anything to me. He proposed." Daralis was sniffing, trying to get herself in control.

"Why then, do I see tears?"

"Because I can't marry him. I love him, I do, it's just that there would be so many people hurt." Legolas was deeply saddened by his daughter's words.

"Dara, nobody wants anything more but to see the two of you happy," he sighed.

"I can't be happy if I'm holding him back from his family. I can't sail to the Undying Lands. I want to stay here with you."

"Daralis. If what you want is to marry Elladan, then please do not let me hold you back. I would suffer the same guilt that you are describing to me."

Daralis became frustrated. He didn't understand.  
"I've waited a _lifetime_ to meet you. That could mean less or more to you than it does to me, but now that I've found you, I can't just leave and wait hundreds more to see you again, if ever. I wouldn't be complete. I can't do that… it's not what Mom would have wanted anyway."

Legolas folded Daralis in his arms before her tears could spill over her eyes.

"She has raised you well indeed."

She smiled through her tears.

Elrohir heard the crashing through the walls after he was awakened from his rest by an ear-splitting headache. He slid from underneath Reidwen and arose, pulling on a robe as he went to his brother's room.

When he opened the door, Elladan's body turned to meet his, and when their eyes met, Elrohir could literally taste the disappointment. It was bitter and salty, almost as if he had tasted Elladan's tears. Elladan sunk to the floor, his brother kneeling to cradle him to his chest.

"Sweet Elbereth, Elladan! Mankoi lle uma tanya?" (Why did you do that?)

"She-she is leaving me, Elrohir."

"Ya?"(Who?)

"Daralis, ungauer. Who else would it be?" (hollow one)

"Amin elea…" (I see…)

"Amin nowe re n'kelaya… " ( I thought she would never leave…)

"Elladan, amin hiraetha." ( Elladan, I'm sorry.)

"Amin uuma maila." ( I don't care.) Elladan pushed himself away from Elrohir, snatching a vase from the nearby table and flinging it against the wall. For a second he was satisfied with the shards of glass on his floor and the spray of water that hit his face. But then the emptiness set in again.

"Lle tela?" (Are you finished?) Elrohir's sardonic voice summoned his attention.

"No." He was being just as sardonic. He wasn't letting his brother come out on top while he was like this.

Elrohir stood.

"Well I suggest you do so soon. Then perhaps you can figure out how to win her back, instead of behaving like, like, like a nadorhuan." (cowardly dog)

Elladan stepped up to his brother's face, looking down and seeing his own tears drying quickly on the fabric of his robe.

"Amin lava. Amin autien rath. " ( I yield. I'm going to bed)

"You will not sleep, Elladan. You shall be up all night thinking about her, and the next night and the next. You need to resolve your problem. What happened?"

"I proposed marriage to her…"

"And she said no?"

"She does not want to sail. She said that she does not want to separate me from my family, and she cannot be separated from her father."

"So?"

"So we are sailing, and I-"

"Whoever said that we would sail?"

"Of course we will. We shall get to see mother again in the Undying Lands."

"Yes, but Reidwen is not sailing. She cannot leave her mother."

"Why does her mother stay?"

"She wants to give Reidwen a chance to be something great."

"Well then marry her, she'll be a lady of the court, and you can sail together."

"Do you not want for us to stay?"

"Of course I do. But I want your happiness, as well as father's."

"Oh, stop trying to be noble. Stay with Daralis if that will bring you happiness… None of us want to handle you in Valinor if you are sulking and throwing things."

Elladan playfully pushed his brother.

"Dina." (Shut up.)

HOLY CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN?!?! This is craaaazy. Okay, I got a new computer, blah blah blah, I have absolutely no excuse for being away so long. I will say this- I had three to four chapters already written on my old computer, and I was working on the final chapter, but now that I've switched, it's not there anymore so I have to start from scratch…. And so the updates will be MORE frequent than they have been obviously, but LESS frequent than they COULD have been if I had the other comp. Okay.

Please review, and forgive the lengthy absence!


	27. Farewell

Chapter 27

Daralis laid in her bed, aching at the argument she could hear Elladan and Elrohir having in the next room.

Damn the walls for being so thin.

It was like he didn't understand it. Couldn't he see that she wanted everything that he wanted just as badly, if not more?

Why couldn't he understand that some things are more important than the selfishness of true love?

They wanted each other, that much was obvious, but there were so many other people that needed their attention and affection. Her father, his twin, his parents.

She felt ashamed thinking about him giving up his family for her… especially his mother.

She turned over and tried to force herself to drift off.

Breakfast the next morning was a silent affair, and Imladris had never seen such interesting porridge. The only people who weren't staring directly at their food were Glorfindel and Elrohir.

Before long, however, a great noise could be heard from the entrance hall by all of the keen-eared occupants of the table.

"Hey there, you pointy-eared filth! Release me at once!" Legolas recognized the voice at once- with bright eyes he leapt up from the table, running to the hall with everyone else in tow.

It took Daralis a moment to realize the reason she couldn't see who was causing such a ruckus over the crowd was that he was just shoulder height.

Legolas forced his way through the elves beginning to crowd around.

"Gimli!"

"Wha- Legolas, I'd no idea you were here! This will give us all a lot more time. We might be able to get to him before it's too late." Everyone's face took on a solemn tone.

"Master Gimli," Elrond began, "perhaps we should discuss this elsewhere."

Later, in the library, Legolas, Daralis, Elladan, Elrohir, Elrond, Glorfindel and Erestor all stood waiting with bated breath for Gimli's news.

"It seems that Aragorn has taken a turn for the worse. It's almost his time, you know, he'll be 200 in three weeks… he's gotten very old, and according to the reports, he's gotten quite weak lately. I thought that you would want to know, Lord Elrond"- Gimli nodded in Elrond and the twins' direction-" seeing as how he was like a son."

"Thank you, Gimli, Elf-friend. I am worried by this news. Elladan, Elrohir, we are going to Gondor tomorrow. If your brother is ailing, we must not only see him off, we must comfort Arwen."

"We will go as well, Lord Elrond. Daralis," he began, turning to her, "After we visit in Gondor we will continue straight to Ithilien. Pack all of your things."

"Yes, Atar." Elladan's face took on a pained expression.

All Daralis really took in from the traveling was the extreme awkwardness that came from riding side by side with Elladan. There would be times where he would look at her for who knows how long, and then there were the times when he looked like he was focused inward, hating himself for the effect that she was having on him.

Rarely did they speak.

When Gondor came into Daralis' view, she was breathless. They rode for the rest of that day, arriving at sundown.

Arwen met them at the entrance, looking strangely mournful.

Elrond dismounted immediately, rushing to his daughter and taking her in his arms.

"Is he alright, penneth?"

Daralis inwardly smiled at the use of this name and the show of affection.

"He's still here, Atar, but I can sense it coming. Thank you all for being here," she added, motioning to all of Elrond's accompanying party.

Daralis looked down awkwardly. She could now sympathize with the nurses in the hospital, trying to comfort her, when there was no comfort to be found. She looked up at her father, and found that he was looking directly at her.

She turned away before the tears came, following the group into the White City.

The guards surrounding Arwen took them to the citadel on horses, and Daralis went to the tip of the alcove to look at the amazing view. She stood on the apex, looking straight ahead. She'd never stood so high above ground in her life. Holding out her arms, it felt as if she were flying.

She sensed someone behind her, and turned, expecting her father. Elladan stood in front of her. He reached his hand out and touched her arm.

She jumped slightly, startled at the tingling his touch left her with, and before she could slip, Elladan's arms were around her, pulling her close to him, to safe ground.

"You shouldn't play, Dara. I nearly lost you."

His voice vibrated in her ears, forcing her to realize how long it had been since they were this close. The tone of his voice was so low, almost sensual, and yet when she looked into his eyes, she saw a pained soul.

"I want to say this to you, Dara. I am going to be waiting for you. Whenever you come to the Undying Lands, be it in a summer, or an eternity of summers. I will be waiting for you on the white shores." She threw her arms around his shoulders, feeling an amazing rush of emotion at his promise.

"Elladan. I don't want to lose you. I love you. It's just… there are some things that are bigger than you and I here. Think of your mother, think of your friends that you have lost in battle. They are waiting for _you._I will be there someday. I swear I will, and then we will be together, for always. It's just not time yet."

Elrond watched them embrace and kiss before going to fetch them.

"Come. It is time."

When Daralis and Elladan walked into Aragorn's bedchambers, a somber sight met them. Arwen sat at Aragorn's side, clutching his hand. Their children stood beside her. There were tearstains on her bodice.

Elrohir stood behind her, and Elladan and Elrond moved to do the same. Daralis went to her father, who was standing at the foot of the bed with Gimli, waiting for their final goodbye with their friend. There was a Gondorian priest at the other side of the king, and an Elf that Daralis recognized from their trip. He also seemed to be a priest.

Aragorn's eyes opened, and they began to speak together.

"O man dôr túliel le?"

(From what land do you come?)

"Telin o Imladris. Nin estar Estel."

(I come from Rivendell. I am Estel.)

"Man lû vin achenitham?"

(When shall we see each other again?)

Aragorn turned to Arwen.

"Elen síla lumenn' omentielvo. Lû vin achenitham ni Valinor."

(A star shines on the hour of our meeting. We shall see each other again in Valinor.)

The Elvish cleric began a deep, slow song.

"A Elbereth Gilthoniel,  
silivren penna míiriel  
o menel aglar elenath!  
Na-chaered palan-díriel  
o galadhremmin ennorath,  
Fanuilos, le linnathon  
nef aear, sí nef aearon."

(O Elbereth who lit the stars,  
from glittering crystal slanting falls with light like jewels  
from heaven on high the glory of the starry host.  
To lands remote I have looked afar,  
and now to thee, Fanuilos,  
bright spirit clothed in ever-white,  
I here will sing beyond the Sea,  
beyond the wide and sundering Sea.)

As if she could not hold herself back any longer, Arwen moved to hold Aragorn. Their hands clutched each other's tightly, and then, in a moment felt by all, he was gone.

Just review, and I'll love you. I won't even bother with excuses. There aren't any for my absence.


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